The Year Long Wait (ON HIATUS)
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: Olivia Felton traveled with the Doctor, fell in love with him, then was left by him. Three years of college later, Captain Jack Harkness, at the behest of Martha Jones, has recruited her to Torchwood Three: Cardiff. While navigating a new country, a new job and a new way of life, she also finds out just how much she can do on her own...with the help of her new boss and co-workers.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Olivia Felton, age twenty-one, sat bored out of her mind, balancing her pen between her upper lip and nose, staring at it with crossed eyes. Aaron, sitting next to her, couldn't help but chuckle, drawing the professor's attention and he whirled around from explaining something on the board. He turned just in time to see the pen fall from Olivia's lip and glared at her as she grinned back, Aaron turning his attention ahead again.

"Well, Miss Felton," he snapped, making her close her eyes so she could roll them at the sound of his tone. She knew what was coming next. "Perhaps _you_ would like to come up here and teach this point to the students? I'm sure you could make it more exciting, if _my_ way of teaching seems to bore you?"

"Try not to show off…too much," Aaron smirked out of the corner of his mouth as she stood, making her give him a smirk as she started toward the front of the class.

"Right!" she grinned, putting on an English accent and Aaron couldn't help but smirk and shake his head. She was going into Doctor Mode. It was something she'd picked up since she'd started these advanced science classes. "Professor Goodman, mind if I borrow your marker for a moment? Cheers!"

She snatched the marker from his hand to step in front of the white board as he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to feel embarrassed, but she grinned as she turned to the class.

"Now…since we've all been over the basics, why don't we skip to the theoretical?" she grinned, hurrying back to her seat to grab her book as the whole class straightened in their seats and nodded to one another. Olivia flipped through her textbook and grinned on a page, holding it up for everyone to see. "Who's up for wormholes?!"

* * *

 _After Class..._

"Olivia, you really have to stop showing up the professor like that," Aaron smirked as they walked through the college campus parking lot. "You're gonna get kicked out."

"They can't kick me out," she smirked back as they reached his Hot Rod Red Mustang. She circled around to the passenger seat as Aaron stepped up to the driver's side. "I'm their shining future, remember? Without me, they'd be nowhere."

" _That_ sounds like the kind of arrogance I'm lookin' for."

Aaron looked up behind Olivia as she whirled around with a frown. Both their eyes popped when they spotted the tall man with bluer than blue eyes and dark trendy hair wearing a long military coat, a charming smirk over his lips.

"Wow," they both mouthed before Aaron hurried around the car to stand next to Olivia as they both shamelessly looked him over, and he did the same to them.

"Who are _you_ and where have you been all my life?" Olivia smirked, leaning back on Aaron's car, flirtatiously and the handsome stranger smirked even wider as he stepped closer to them.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he introduced himself, holding a hand out for her to shake and she instantly grasped it, resisting the urge to step closer to him. "Nice to meet you, Olivia Felton."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine," she smiled slyly as they let go of each other's hands and he chuckled, turning to Aaron to shake his hand as well as she introduced, "This is my best friend, Aaron Marcus."

"Nice to meet you, Aaron," Jack nodded as they shook hands.

"Uh huh," Aaron breathed with a deft nod.

"Aaron, you're drooling," Olivia teased, lifting a hand to close his mouth from its slack position as Aaron only stared on at Jack, swallowing hard.

"Nice car," Jack complimented, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"It's mine!" Aaron blurted, making Olivia snort out a laugh as Jack lifted a brow at him, still smiling. "I…I mean…yeah. It's my car."

"I like the color," Jack nodded, stepping on the other side of Olivia to get a better look at it. "1969, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Aaron smiled, his eyes lighting up.

"Down, boy," Olivia joked to him before turning to Jack, still leaning on the car as she tilted her head back slightly and Jack met her gaze with a charming smile. "I don't think you came here to talk about cars, did you, Captain? Personally, I'd like you to start with how you knew my name when we haven't met. And believe me, I'd _remember_ if I met a hot hunk of man such as yourself."

"Ooh, you're good," Jack smirked, turning to face her as she remained leaning on the car. "You came to our attention some time ago. Your first year of college, in fact. A very good friend of mine told me about you. Told me I should keep an eye out in every college campus in America for a girl named Olivia Felton. Even gave me your High School name. I've been keeping tabs on you until you were ready for my proposal."

"Why, Captain! We've only just met!" Olivia gasped in false astonishment, placing a dramatic hand on her heart. "Think of the scandal a proposal would cause!"

Jack laughed heartily as she lowered her hand and she asked, seriously, "And who was this friend of yours? Anyone I know?"

"Let's just say, the three of us go to the same Doctor," Jack replied.

Olivia's playful air instantly disappeared as her smile dropped and he knew she'd understood what he meant. Aaron did as well as his eyes widened and he instantly shot his gaze to Olivia as she stood tall, her eyes darkening as she kept them on Jack and he met her gaze.

"What's this proposal you have for me?" she questioned, no longer flirting or playing around. "Who are you, _really_?"

"I am who I said I am," he nodded. "I work for Torchwood in Cardiff, South Wales. Our base sits right on top of a rift in time and space. We specialize in—"

"I know what Torchwood is," Olivia cut in. "I've read up on you, and UNIT. Get to the point, Captain."

"You're far more advanced in your college courses than anyone else in this school," Jack began. "I need someone like you on my team. It's only three of us."

"For what?" Olivia scoffed. "I study planets. You guys deal in alien debris and whatever _else_ falls the through the rift. What could I _possibly_ offer that you don't already know?"

"I watched you in your class today," Jack replied, stepping closer to her, looking into her eyes so that she saw his sincerity. "You were _brilliant_. You put that boring old codger in his place. You were just like _Him_ , Liv."

"Don't you _dare_ call me that," she ground out, her gaze turning to a burning glare that made him smirk. "Wipe that smug smirk off your face. Only _one man_ gets to call me that. One. And unless you're a new regeneration of the Doctor playing some head game with me, you do _not_ get to call me that… _ever_. Got it?"

"That, Olivia Felton, is why I'm here for you," Jack still smirked. "You've got a fire in your eyes like a supernova, and the mind of a genius. You're open to anything because the Doctor has shown you things no one would ever believe, and you're stuck _here_."

"I'm not _stuck_ here," she snapped. "I _live_ here. My mom is here, my friends are here and the Doctor is coming back _here_ to visit me…eventually."

"You could be waiting a long time for that, Olivia," Jack warned. "He wouldn't want you wasting your life waiting for him when you could be doing so much more."

"Sorry, but that line isn't gonna work with me," she shot back, turning to open the door of Aaron's car. "Nice to meet you, Captain Eye Candy, but I'm not going to Cardiff with you."

Jack and Aaron watched Olivia get into the car and Aaron glanced at Jack before hurrying to the other side of the car and got in to start the engine, but before they could pull out of the space, Jack leaned on the edge of the door on Olivia's side.

"You'll come around, Olivia Felton," he smirked, reaching a hand into his pocket to pull a small card from it and hold it toward her. "Call me when you do."

"And what in the big black universe makes you think I'll change my mind?" she sighed, snatching the card from him with two fingers to examine it before looking up at him.

He leaned toward her, still smirking, and whispered into her ear, "Because you're in love with the Doctor, and staying near the rift increases your chances of seeing him again."

Olivia felt her heart thump in her chest at his words, but she stared ahead, not wanting him to think he affected her as he stood tall again and Aaron took that as his cue to back out of the slot and drive away. She glanced to the rearview mirror to watch Jack become smaller and smaller until Aaron turned out of the lot and into the street.

"What did he say to you?" Aaron questioned as he drove.

Olivia examined the card in her hand and the number on it before slipping it into her pocket, lying flatly, "Nothing."

* * *

 _Evening..._

"I'm sorry, Martha," Jack shrugged, holding his cell phone to his ear as he shuffled around his hotel room. "She didn't go for it. Maybe the impossible has happened and she's over him."

" _I doubt it_ ," Martha replied over the phone as Jack tossed one of his shirts into his suitcase as it sat open on the bed. " _Astrophysics is a serious career choice, and she made it with him in mind. She wouldn't still be at it if she gave up on him_."

"The voice of experience or woman's intuition?" Jack smirked.

" _Both_ ," Martha admitted, making Jack scoff but he frowned when he heard the beep of a call waiting through the phone.

"Sorry, Sweet Martha, I have another call," he smiled, charmingly.

" _Another one of your girlfriends?_ " Martha guessed, and he heard the smirk in her tone.

"I'll call you back and tell you all about it," he replied before they gave their short goodbyes and he answered the next call. "Harkness."

" _I have just one question for you, Captain_ ," Olivia answered, making him smirk but he said nothing yet. " _Exactly how will going to work for Torchwood increase my chances of finding the Doctor? From what I've read, you and the Doctor haven't really had any contact. The only incident on record is the day the Daleks took the Earth to the Medusa Cascade_."

"Only incident _on_ _record_ ," Jack echoed. "There was another time, _not_ on record and in no one's memory, except for a few, that I helped the Doctor. It was a year that never happened that I'll explain to you at another time. The Doctor landed right above the base to charge up the TARDIS. See, the rift gives off energy that the TARDIS can feed on, like a pit stop."

There was silence on the other side of the phone for a moment and he assumed she was thinking before she asked, " _And this friend that told you about me…was it the Doctor?_ "

"No. But she _is_ a doctor in London. She works for UNIT. Doctor Martha Jones."

" _I've heard of her. How does_ _she_ _know about me?_ "

"Wish I knew," Jack shrugged, sorting through his suitcase. "I honestly don't know. I didn't ask. You can ask _her_ if you want. She works with us from time to time."

" _You're assuming I'm excepting the job_."

"You are."

" _I never said that_."

"But you _are_ ," Jack smirked. "You wouldn't have called me if you weren't. Unless, of course, you just wanted to hear my sultry voice one last time before I head back to Cardiff?"

" _Are you always this cliché, Captain?_ " Olivia questioned.

"Come with me and you'll find out," Jack shot back. "And you _will_ come with me, because you wouldn't miss this opportunity to see him again. You wouldn't risk it."

" _How did you know…about my feelings for the Doctor?_ " she questioned, hesitantly.

"The look in your eyes when I mentioned him," Jack smirked. "And the way you snapped at me when I call you Liv. That was a lucky guess on my part, by the way. I wanted to see how riled you could get. I have to admit, knowing how clever you are was one thing, but meeting you was a whole different experience. I like you, Olivia Felton. You are _definitely_ Torchwood material."

Silence again. He waited, patiently, knowing that she was thinking it over. Thinking _everything_ over.

" _When's your flight back to Cardiff?_ "

* * *

 _The Next Morning..._

"I'll call when I land," Olivia explained to Joyce and Aaron as she paced her room, packing a large suitcase and they stood in her doorway. "The time difference is roughly five or six hours, so I might not call you till evening…maybe even the middle of the night."

"Olivia," Joyce called gently, making her look up at her mother, but she didn't stop. "Are you sure about this?"

"Mom, if I don't do this, I might miss the Doctor altogether," she replied, grabbing a plastic bag and tossing it into the case. "I'll need time to get a place there. I'll send you the address as soon as I have one where you can send the rest of my things. Or, I might be back. I don't know yet. I'll let you know for sure."

"What if he comes back here?" Aaron questioned. "You may miss him if you leave, then this'll be for nothing."

"It's been three years, Aaron," Olivia replied, packing another set of clothes into the case before looking to the ring on her finger she'd gotten from Gemsyti and lifting her hand to fiddle with it. "I haven't given up hope that he'll visit me, but…if there's some way I can meet him half way, then I'll take it."

She paced the room again, packing more things as she continued, "I've thought about this, and Jack's right. My professors know _nothing_ compared to what the Doctor showed me. I didn't realize what he meant by saying I was stuck here until I really thought about it. He meant I'm stuck _intellectually_. Torchwood might be able to give me a challenge."

She froze when she caught the sound of a choked sob and shot her gaze to her mother as Joyce held a hand to her mouth, trying to stop the sobs, but it did no good.

"Oh, mom," Olivia groaned, stepping toward her to pull her into a tight hug, feeling her shudder with sobs. "It's a temporary trip. I won't be there forever, I promise. If this job doesn't pan out for me, I'll be back. And I'll be back anyway if it does to say a proper goodbye. Or you can come live with me! You can even bring Faye along. I'm sure Torchwood will have a way to get her there. Please, mom, stop crying."

"Just…" Joyce shuddered and Olivia pulled away to look at her, lifting a hand to wipe her tears away. "Just promise me…you'll stay safe. Some of the things you told me about Torchwood—"

"I'll be fine, mom," Olivia smiled, stroking some of her hair from her face. "I promise."

Joyce nodded with another sob before turning and hurrying down the hall so that she wouldn't see her tears as Olivia sighed, lifting her hands to her face to rub it before sniffling and turning back to her suitcase to pack it.

"You're awfully quiet," she noticed, glancing up at Aaron as she shuffled around the room and he remained in the doorway, watching her. "Usually you'd have more of an opinion."

"What do you want me to say, Olivia?" he shrugged. "This is _exactly_ what happened when the Doctor asked you to take off with him. The only difference is the guy you're going with. I couldn't stop you then and I can't stop you now."

"The reason is different, too," she replied.

"No it's not," he argued, making her stop and frown up at him as she was about to pack a pair of pajamas and he met her gaze. "It's the same exact reason as last time: The Doctor."


	2. Welcome to Torchwood Cardiff

**A/N:** welcome whovians, torchwoodys, and doclivia fans! I've finally decided to post this story! This story is Olivia's year in Torchwood that has been referenced to in my Doclivia saga! enjoy all!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: Welcome to Torchwood Cardiff**_

Twenty-one year old Olivia Felton struggled to pull her suitcase from the conveyer belt in the Cardiff South Wales airport. Her fingers were already numb from the cold and she was weakened from jet lag. All she could think about was sleep and the warm weather of her native California. She finally managed to pull her suitcase from the belt and set it down next to her, blowing at a piece of raven black hair that fell into her jade green eyes.

"Took you long enough," a voice she knew too well now smirked from behind her. Rolling her eyes she turned a glare over her shoulder to the tall, handsome man standing behind her with his own suitcase, his bright blue eyes glowing in amusement under trendy brown hair. "What d'ya have in there? Rocks or bricks?"

"Shut up, Harkness. I'm not in the mood," she shot back, looking to the exit and her eyes widened. "Where's the sun?! It's pouring cats and dogs outside!"

"This is Cardiff, Olivia," Jack replied, placing a hand at the small of her back to lead her toward the exit as he began walking. "You better get used to rain since you're gonna be living and working here for the foreseeable future."

"This is temporary, I told you," she reminded him, turning to swat his hand away from her as they headed toward the door. "A month at least. If I don't like it, I'm leaving."

"You'll stay," Jack smirked, confidently as they stepped into the rain outside. "You can't risk missing the Doctor."

Olivia gave him a sideways glare before looking away as he hailed a cab. He was right. Even if she hated working for Torchwood, she would stay. If the Doctor came to refuel the TARDIS on the rift running through Cardiff, and she wasn't there, she would hate herself for giving up so easily. And she would _never_ give up on the man she loved.

"You comin' or what, Bright Eyes?" Jack called over the rain, whipping her attention to him as he held the door of the cab open for her. She hurried through the rain and launched herself into the cab as Jack quickly shoved their bags into the trunk then climbed in himself.

"Where ya goin'?" the cabby questioned in a thick Welsh accent, making Olivia frown as she tried to understand what he was saying.

"Cardiff Bay," Jack replied and the cabby nodded before pulling into the streets. Jack lifted an arm to rest it behind Olivia's shoulders on the seat as he explained, "We'll find a flat for you soon, but I want you to get a feel for the workplace first."

"And how will I find a flat here?" she wondered, making him smirk.

"I'll help you," he assured her, then looked to the divider behind the cabby's head and leaned forward to say, "No offense, but I gotta close this. Private conversation about to happen. I hope you don't mind."

"Do what ya like, mate," the cabby nodded before Jack thanked him and shut the divider before shifting closer to Olivia as she frowned at him.

"I hate it when people shut out cabbies like they're not there. It's rude," he explained before lowering his voice and murmuring, "When we get to Torchwood, Gwen and Ianto will be there. I've got some work to do so Ianto will show you around a bit until I'm finished, then I'll take you down to the vaults and you can start today."

"But I just got here!" she ground out. "I don't even have a place to sleep for tonight!"

"The rift never sleeps, Olivia," he replied seriously. "While you're working for Torchwood you'll be on call twenty-four seven. We have regular work hours, but if something happens, everyone's called in. We're the only ones that can keep everything in check here in Cardiff. We've gotta keep up."

She nodded in understanding before looking away from him, chewing on her lower lip in thought but he'd seen the look in her eyes before she looked away.

"You're having second thoughts, aren't you?" he guessed.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, but said nothing.

"Look, I'm not gonna force you to stay. If you decide this isn't your cuppa tea you can go back home. But I know what it's like being one of the ones the Doctor leaves behind. I had done some space traveling in my time before I met him, but it was nothing compared to the way it was _after_ I'd met him. I miss it too, sometimes. And don't get me wrong, I love my job now, but it's different when you're with the Doctor. You know you'll make a difference for the better, and you don't care that you could die at any moment, because it's for the better. Torchwood's not the same, but it's a start to finding the Doctor, trust me."

The cab came to a stop, making the two look out their windows. The rain was lightening up and Olivia frowned out the window at the unfamiliar surroundings, unable to believe she was actually here. Jack paid the cabby before climbing out and helping Olivia out as well, both quickly pulling their bags from the trunk. They hurried across the bay to a shack at the end, Jack quickly opening the door and let Olivia in first before following her.

"Ianto!" he nearly barked, shaking the rain from his coat and making Olivia jump and look to him with wide eyes.

Her eyes darted to the door made of beads as a young man in a suit and tie with light hair and soft green eyes emerged from them and stepped behind the desk.

"You yelled, Captain?" Ianto smirked, making Olivia give a snicker but Jack ignored them both as he pulled Olivia toward the desk Ianto was standing behind.

"I believe you know Olivia," Jack nodded to Ianto before introducing him to Olivia. "Olivia, this is Ianto Jones. He makes sure we get everywhere on time, makes a _mean_ cuppa coffee, and looks _very_ nice in a suit."

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Miss Felton," Ianto smiled in a lovely Welsh accent as he held his hand out for her to shake and she grasped it firmly with a nod.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ianto," she smiled in return, pulling her hand back, not surprised by his words at all since Jack had told her they'd been keeping tabs on her since she went into college three years ago.

"Right, let's get you coded in then," he nodded, turning to the computer on the desk and typing at it. "We need to do this before you step inside. Fingerprints, retinal scan, and when you get inside we'll take a blood sample."

"Wow, I feel like I'm becoming a spy," Olivia smirked as Ianto placed a piece of paper and an inkpad on the desk between them. "Now when you say fingerprints, am I getting them burned off, or you're just taking 'em?"

"Burned off?" Jack frowned, sarcastically. "What d'ya think this is MIB or somethin'?"

"Hey, can't be too sure about some things," she replied in all honesty as he took her hand to roll each of her fingers onto the pad then onto the paper.

"Well, no burning fingerprints off for us," Jack replied as he finished with her hand and Ianto handed her a towel to wipe off the ink, which she thanked him for. "Men in Black isn't real, anyway. We checked. There's just UNIT."

"If you could put your eye up to this camera," Ianto smiled, turning the webcam on the computer to face Olivia and she did as he asked. "Try not to blink."

"Speaking of UNIT, when do I get to meet Martha Jones?" Olivia asked, Jack as she watched a green line scan her eye, first from top to bottom, then from side to side.

"Thank you," Ianto nodded as a signal that she could step away, which she did, then looked to Jack, still rubbing her hand with the towel before handing it to Ianto.

"Not sure," Jack shrugged. "She's been busy with UNIT and we haven't needed any help. She's actually on her honeymoon for the next week or so."

"Here's your paperwork, Olivia," Ianto smiled then gestured to his left toward the door. "We'll all head down to the hub now and I'll show you around."

"Alright then," Olivia nodded with a smile, taking the paperwork he left for her on the desk before turning to head toward the door, Ianto by her side. The door opened and she frowned in wonder when she realized someone was missing. She turned to see Jack heading toward the door and called, "Where're _you_ going?"

"Told you I had work to do!" he called with a smirk, heading out the door and she turned to Ianto as they stepped into the hall behind the door.

"Is he _always_ like that?" she wondered as Ianto tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged.

"Sometimes," he replied as they stepped into a lift and they turned to face the doors. "You get used to it."

"Oh! The bags—!"

"They'll be fine," he assured her as the lift stopped, and an alarm went off as they stepped out and a huge cog door rolled away to the side as a cage door opened at the same time. "After you."

"Wow," she breathed, before stepping into the Hub of Torchwood. "Talk about maximum security. Whoa! This place is _huge_!"

Ianto smiled down at her as she looked up at him with a grin and he held his arm out for her to take. She looped her arm through his and he led her toward a set of stairs where a woman with long black hair was sitting at one of the computers on the platform.

"Olivia, this is Gwen Cooper," Ianto introduced as they stopped next to the woman and she stood from her desk with a smile, showing off the adorable gap in her front teeth and Olivia wondered if her green eyes were normally so wide as they shook hands.

"It's lovely to finally meet you, Olivia," Gwen smiled, revealing her Welsh accent. "I hope you'll feel right at home here. Jack told us you've traveled with the Doctor."

"Yeah," Olivia nodded. "But I hope that's not the _only_ reason he came all the way to California for me."

"Oh, of course not," she smiled before looking back to the empty desk next to hers and stepping toward it to set a hand on its surface, explaining, "This is you."

Ianto led her toward the desk and she detached from him to look over the empty desk, a computer screen sitting just above it. She couldn't help but smooth her fingers over the surface and she felt a chill run up her spine that she managed to hide. Somehow she knew she wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

 _Later..._

Jack strolled past the cog door, his hands in his pockets as he looked around the Hub for Olivia. He frowned when she was nowhere in sight and marched up the stairs to find Ianto and Gwen staring at the computer screen above Gwen's desk. Their eyes were glued to the screen, wide and unflinching.

"You guys finally find some good porn?" Jack smirked, strolling toward them to look over Ianto's shoulder. "What're you guys—?"

He cut himself off when he registered what was actually on the screen. Olivia was in the vaults standing right in front of the cell that had one of the Weevils in it. She lifted a hand and placed it on the glass separating it from her.

"What the hell is she doing?" Jack wondered with a frown.

"She said she wanted to see the vaults alone," Ianto explained, none of them looking from the screen. "When I came back here she was standing in front of the Weevil."

"She better not—" Jack was cut off again when he noticed Olivia step toward the door of the cell to go inside. "Shit! Is she trying to get herself _killed_?!"

Jack hurried toward the stairs but when he reached the bottom he was stopped for a moment by Gwen.

"Jack!" she called, shooting to her feet to look at him when he whirled around to meet her gaze. "It didn't attack!"

Jack frowned up at her but said nothing as he turned to head toward the vaults, this time at a slower pace. He heard footsteps hurrying behind him before they matched his stride, and he could tell Ianto and Gwen were the ones behind him, just as curious as he was. The three reached the vaults and Jack silently signaled the two to remain in the entrance as he strolled toward the cell where he knew Olivia had entered. He stopped in front of the cell and smirked when he saw Olivia sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with the Weevil in front of her in the same position.

"Well, ain't this a Kodak moment?" Jack smirked, but neither of them looked to him.

"He knows I don't mean him any harm," Olivia replied, smiling at the Weevil.

"How do you know that's not a she?" Jack wondered.

"He, she, it…what's the difference?" she shrugged, still not looking at him. "I don't mean any harm. He must know that somehow."

"We have a theory that the Weevils are slightly telepathic," he confirmed.

"Well, there you go."

Jack straightened when the Weevil stood and hobbled toward her. Seeing his reaction out of the corner of her eye, Olivia lifted a hand to stop him as she kept her eye on the Weevil. It knelt next to her and started combing through her hair, making her giggle as she lowered her hand.

"That tickles!" she laughed.

Jack sighed in relief before smirking and shaking his head, turning to head out of the vaults.

"Better be done with your new boyfriend soon," Jack called. "I've got something to show you and we've got work to do!"

He didn't wait as he sauntered back toward Ianto and Gwen as they stared at him expectantly. He only shrugged before smirking when he heard footsteps behind him.

"So what're we doing first?" Olivia wondered as she and Jack stepped past a stunned Ianto and Gwen.

"First off, you're coming with me," Jack explained, heading around the water tower in the center of the hub. "Ianto, set everything up in the med bay for when we get back and Gwen, I need you to run that check for me."

"Yes, Captain," Ianto called, heading toward the med bay and Gwen only nodded as Jack and Olivia stepped up to a huge concrete block which Jack stepped up onto.

"Check?" Olivia frowned in wonder as Jack held a hand to her and she took it without hesitation to let him pull her next to him as she wondered, "Like a background check?"

"Yup," Jack nodded. "Someone new in town seemed a little fishy to me. And…by fishy I mean _literally_. The smell is horrendous." He shuddered, dramatically. "Wanna make sure he's not a fish in sheep's clothing."

"You really think he's an alien…fish?" Olivia frowned in wonder.

"Can never be too careful," Jack shrugged. "It's the job."

She nodded before giving a squeak of shock and looking down when the block they were standing on began to move. She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm as she stared wide eyes at their feet, before shooting her gaze up at the ceiling.

"We're going to the street?" she frowned in wonder before looking to Jack's smirk. "Isn't it kinda public?"

"The perception filter in this block keeps anyone from seeing us," Jack explained and she frowned up at him, making him frown in return.

"A _what_ filter?" she questioned as the lift came to a stop on the street.

Jack's eyes widened at her and he asked, " _How long_ traveling with the Doctor and you don't know what a perception filter is?"

"We didn't get to that part of the briefing," she smirked back, unmoving from their spot. "We covered…aliens, TARDIS, Psychic Paper, time travel and space travel but not perception filters."

"Alright," Jack sighed, taking her hand and stepping off the block, pulling her with him to face the spot they'd been standing on. "A perception filter shifts the perception of the person looking at the thing. Like something out of the corner of your eye. You see it, but you don't really register it."

"So if you stand on that block, I won't see you?" Olivia guessed.

"Well, not exactly," Jack admitted. "Like the Psychic Paper, it doesn't work on people who're around the stuff for so long or people with a higher level of intelligence. Because you've been traveling with the Doctor and you've got an open mind, it probably wouldn't work on you."

"How'd you put it there without anyone noticing?" she wondered.

"We didn't," he replied, turning to face her completely as she frowned up at him in wonder. "Something with a chameleon circuit landed on this very spot and somehow fused with that block."

"Chameleon circuit," she echoed with a frown before meeting his gaze in wide-eyed realization and grinned, "The TARDIS! The TARDIS has a chameleon circuit! What happened here, Jack? Tell me!"

"The TARDIS was here when the rift went berserk," he replied without hesitation. "It was when I first met the Doctor, when we were traveling together with Rose Tyler. They picked me up in World War Two and we came here for a pit stop and ended up running into a Raxacoricofallapatorian from the Slitheen family that was gonna destroy the planet just to catch a wave from the blast off the planet. But the TARDIS was pulling energy from the rift at the time so whatever happened bonded the chameleon circuit to that block there, just for a moment. The effects stayed with it."

"So pretty much another ordinary day for the Doctor, right?" she smirked, making him laugh before she looked back to the block. "So he _was_ here. But that was a long time ago."

"Oh, he was here another time after that," Jack smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He showed up once with Martha Jones. That was the second time I saw him. The third was when the Daleks stole the Earth and took it to the Medusa Cascade. He was with Donna Noble then."

"Jeez, how many women has he taken on a joy ride?" Olivia grumbled, not wanting Jack to hear her, but he had.

"Olivia, you have to believe me when I tell you, it was different with you," he assured her, making her shoot wide eyes at him in wonder. "The reason Martha told me to keep tabs on you was because he visited her after he left you and told her all about you."

"You told me you didn't know how she knew about me," she recalled, her temper flaring at the fact that she'd been lied to.

"I told you that to keep you interested," Jack confirmed. "But I'm telling you the truth now. The Doctor's had companions, but not even Rose Tyler can hold a candle to you. Olivia Felton, the world's sexiest astrophysicist. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want flattery to work on me," she shot back, making his smirk widen. "And why did you compare me to Rose Tyler? Who is she? Why is she so special?"

"That's a story for another day, Bright Eyes," he replied, taking her hand to turn and pull her toward the street. "I have a surprise for you."

"Stop calling me Bright Eyes," Olivia sighed as he pulled her along. "I had a professor that called me that."

"That's nice."

"I hated him."

"Well what d'you _want_ me to call you?"

"Using my name would be nice," she retorted as he hailed a cab. "It took some time for my mom and dad to pick it out. You _could_ use it."

Jack laughed as the cab pulled up and smirked, "I know what I'll call you."

"Ooh, do tell, Captain. I'm on pins and needles."

He pulled the door open but turned to face her, leaning on the door as she frowned up at him and he replied, "I mentioned it when we first met, remember? That fire in your eyes like a Supernova. I could call you Nova for short."

"Well, since we're being sentimental and you seem _very_ pleased with your decision, I have a nickname for _you_ that I used when we first met," she retorted, making him frown in wonder before she explained, "Captain Eye Candy."

* * *

 _A Few Blocks Away..._

"Don't tell me you're bringing me to _your_ place," Olivia sighed as Jack led her up a flight of stairs, rummaging through his pockets. "I could do without a tour of the bachelor pad, thank you very much."

"It's not _my_ place," Jack replied before making a small triumphant noise when he found what he was looking for and used the key on the door, pushing it open and turning his charming smirk to her, saying, "It's _yours_."

Olivia frowned deeply before glancing between him and the open door. She stepped through the door to look around. To her left sat a living room, which she slowly stepped into, Jack following her to lean back on the wall next to the door, crossing his arms as she made her investigation. She made a right turn and found a modest kitchen before she turned around and marched back toward the hall, making Jack smirk as she passed him. She passed a bathroom on her right and a linen closet on her left to head into the last room…the bedroom.

"Hope you like it," Jack called, standing at the door of the bedroom she was standing in the middle of. "I tried to find a furnished flat, but it was a bit short notice. You'll be able to afford it on your upcoming salary. You'll be able to afford furniture too. I can help you pick some out if you want. Ianto's better at interior design than I am, so he can come along. Good news is you can get a pet and redecorate all you like."

She turned to Jack with wide eyes filled with wonder as he only smirked at her, leaning sideways on the frame of the doorway, his arms crossed as their eyes met.

"Welcome to Torchwood Cardiff, Olivia Felton," he smirked and she couldn't help but smile, knowingly. "You're gonna love it here."

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm gonna tell ya now, this is not a love story between Jack and Olivia. for those of you who know Liv, she wouldn't betray the Doctor, no matter , get ready for cameos and guest stars! LOL! reviews?


	3. Surprising

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: Surprising**_

"I hate needles," Olivia muttered, sitting in the medical bay on the metal table in the center of the room as Jack stood next to her, preparing a needle and vial on the tray next to her. "And can't you get a professional? Don't you have someone with medical training to do this?"

"We used to," Jack replied, taking a tourniquet and tying it around her upper arm. "Long story. I've had some medical training. Enough to take blood properly."

"What do you need my blood for, anyway?" she asked, watching him tap the crook of her elbow with two fingers, trying to reveal the vein.

"Just in case," Jack replied, wiping some rubbing alcohol onto her elbow.

Olivia's eyes widened as he sat next to her, lifting the needle from the tray and pulling her arm closer. She swallowed and looked away with tightly clenched eyes and Jack frowned up at her before smiling and leaned closer to her, catching her attention and she frowned at him.

"I promise, I'll be gentle," he smirked suggestively, making her fear melt away to irritation and she gave him a glare. "It'll only hurt more if you don't relax."

"I picked the wrong nickname," she shot back. "Captain _Hot Pants_ is better."

"Well, I just can't help myself around a gorgeous woman such as yourself," he smirked.

"Thanks, but I'm the Doctor's girl, remember?" she smirked back. "I don't think he'd take to you flirting so shamelessly with me."

"I'm just trying to get you to relax," he replied, pulling away and lifting the vial into her view and her eyes widened when she noticed it was full of her blood. "Didn't even feel a thing, did you? Told you I'd be gentle."

He winked at her before putting the vial onto the tray and lifting a huge piece of cotton to place it over the needle prick. He pulled the tourniquet off and placed her hand over the cotton ball then bent her arm up so that her hand was level with her shoulder, Olivia staring wide eyes at him the whole time.

"Alright, gorgeous, go to your desk and wait for orders," he smiled, pulling her arm back down to place a piece of tape over the cotton to keep it in place. "Have some of Ianto's fantastic coffee."

"Oh, fine," she muttered, jumping off the table as Jack started straightening up. "Pin me to my desk just because you took a little blood. You promised me action, Jack Harkness."

"Oh, I've got plenty of work for you to do, Olivia Felton," he retorted, gently taking her arm to lead her up the stairs and toward her desk to sit her in the chair. "First off, you're gonna enter all your information in here. Then, you're gonna memorize this number…"

He leaned over to type at her keyboard to bring up a screen on the computer where she was to enter her information and pointed to a number under the empty slot where her name would go.

"There's a picture of me already?" she frowned in wonder, looking to her Student ID photo on the side of the screen.

"We'll update that later," Jack assured her. "But you _need_ to memorize this number. This is your serial number at Torchwood Three."

"Done," she shrugged, making him frown down at her as he stood tall and she turned in her chair to smile up at him. She slapped a hand over her eyes and recited the number he'd pointed at. "Olivia Felton. Serial number 43509. Torchwood Three."

She lowered her hand with a grin as he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. He pulled the hand she'd held over her eyes and looked it over as she only continued grinning at him. Finding nothing written on her hand he lowered it and lifted his chin, defiantly.

"Ok, clever," he nodded. "How'd you do that?"

"I have a _very_ good memory," she smirked, turning back to type at her computer, entering her information as he'd told her to.

"Jack," Gwen called, drawing his attention to her and he headed toward her to lean over her shoulder to look at the screen. "I did that background check on St John Kramer like you wanted. Turns out he's only been around for a few months. I can't find anything on him before March."

"I knew something was fishy about him…literally," he replied.

"You've been makin' that joke since you met him," Gwen noticed, irritably. "Please stop."

"Find out what the date of his first transaction at that shop was and cross reference it with the rift openings," Jack ordered, ignoring her comment. "See if we can't figure out _exactly_ when he showed up."

Gwen began typing at her computer but as soon as she started her work, a beeping sound came from her computer that made Olivia jump and look to the two.

"Rift activity," she called as Ianto hurried up the stairs from the kitchen to huddle up with the two. "Looks like a car park across town."

"Oh, this should be fun," Jack smirked. "Any CCTV in that area?"

"They're all down in that area," Gwen replied, typing at her computer. "Maintenance."

"I hate that," Jack muttered before looking up to Olivia as she stared at the group in wonder and waved her over, calling, "Come on, Nova! You wanted action, right? Let's go!"

Olivia grinned and jumped from her chair to hurry toward the group, skidding to a stop in front of Jack. Her jade eyes were wide and glittering like stars, her lips parted in her grin as she stared up at him, and it was then that he knew why the Doctor had asked her to travel with him, and why he'd fallen in love with her.

"Alright, then," he nodded with a smirk before looking to Ianto who straightened, waiting for orders. "Ianto, get the lovely lady a firearm. Something she can handle easily."

"Ianto, the lady does _not_ need a firearm, thank you," Olivia corrected, making Jack frown down at her in wonder as she looked back at him. "I'm not carrying a gun, Jack. The Doctor never did it, so I'm not either."

"Olivia, this isn't like traveling with the Doctor," Jack reminded her. "He doesn't need a gun because he's _the Doctor_."

"And _I_ don't need one because I'm _me_ ," she retorted. "Just give me something to neutralize with."

Jack raised his brows before turning to Ianto and nodding him on. Ianto nodded in return and turned to head down the stairs as Olivia frowned at Jack when he turned back to her.

"Alright, you want a neutralizer, you're gettin' our best one," Jack nodded. "You keep it closer to you than the Doctor keeps his—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Jack Harkness," Olivia cut in, pointing at him in warning and he frowned in wonder before rolling his eyes.

"I was gonna say Sonic Screwdriver," he explained but she eyed him suspiciously as Ianto came back, stepping straight to Olivia, his hands behind his back.

"Here you are, Olivia," Ianto smiled, pulling a hand out from behind his back with something in it that Olivia looked down at in wonder. "Non-lethal and neutralizes most, if not all, humanoids and anything biological."

Olivia took the thing by the handle and looked over it with a frown before glancing between the men and asking, "What is it?"

"Stun gun," Ianto smiled, making Olivia look at him and smile with an affirmative noise and a nod of approval as she looked back to the thing in her hand. "You'll have to be close enough to press it against the assailant to use it, though."

"Gotcha," she nodded, tucking it into the band of her pants and looking to Jack.

"Better?" he questioned.

"Much," she chirped with a nod.

"Good," he nodded before turning to head down the stairs, calling, "Gwen, keep at it. Ianto, you tell us where we're going, exactly. Everyone on coms?"

"I don't have one," Olivia reported, hurrying after Jack as he headed toward the caged cog door, the others replying that they were on their coms.

"Here!" Gwen called.

Olivia turned just in time for the other woman to toss something small and black toward her. Olivia caught it in mid-air and looked to it in the palm of her hand before turning a smile and a thank you nod to Gwen then hurried after Jack as the alarm to the door went off, hooking the device around her ear.

"Alright, Supernova, let's go meet some aliens," Jack smirked, sauntering toward the lift.

"On your six, Captain Eye Candy!" she grinned, hurrying after him as she finished hooking up her com.

* * *

 _The car park across town..._

"There's nothing here," Olivia observed as she and Jack sat parked in the Torchwood SUV in the car park, Jack in the driver's seat on the right and Olivia on the left, both staring out the windows and windshield.

"Ianto, where exactly was the rift opening in this car park?" Jack questioned into his com.

" _According to the computer you're parked right over it_ ," Ianto replied, making both Olivia and Jack turn to each other with frowns.

"Parked right _over_ it?" Jack echoed, still frowning, and Olivia wasted no time as she got out of the car and Jack followed, calling, "Wait! Olivia! We don't know what's out there yet!"

Ignoring him completely, Olivia knelt down to her hands and knees and looked under the SUV but it was too dark to see anything as Jack got out and stood on the other side. She shot up again, looking at him through their open doors over the seats and he met her gaze.

"Got a flashlight on you?" she hoped.

Jack grabbed at the pockets of his military coat before digging into one of them and pulled out a small flashlight to toss to her through the car. She caught it effortlessly, switched it on, then went back on her knees to shine it under the car.

"What do you see?" he asked as she passed the light right in front of her.

She grinned as she reached under the SUV with her free hand and slid a metal disk toward her, gripping it once it was close enough. She stood tall and lifted the disk to show it off to Jack, making him grin back.

"I found a metal Frisbee," she grinned before they both climbed back into the car and Jack took it when she offered it to him to examine.

"Sorry, but this is no Frisbee," Jack replied, not looking from the thing in his hands as he turned it over. It was made of thick, dark silver metal and slightly concave with a rounded edge, a few buttons on the outer surface. "It's a shape preserver."

"What's a shape preserver?" Olivia frowned in wonder, glancing between the thing in his hands and him.

" _Jack?_ " Ianto called over the coms, but he was ignored as Jack began explaining the thing to Olivia first.

"It's shape-shifter tech from the 50th century onward," he explained. "It preserves images of a shape-shifter for use later so that the shifter doesn't have to go by its memory. Oh! This is a _beauty_!"

" _Jack…_ " Ianto called again.

"Ianto, we're heading back to the hub," Jack finally replied. "What is it?"

" _I've just located your fish friend_ ," Ianto explained.

"Good. Where is he?" Jack questioned.

" _Look ahead_."

Olivia and Jack looked ahead through the windshield to see a slender man marching toward them, pointing a gun at them. Olivia screamed and ducked, but Jack put the car in reverse before slamming on the gas, cranking the steering wheel as he did to turn the SUV around. Shots rang out and one bullet hit the glass of Olivia's window as she remained in the ducking position just as the SUV stopped and the tires squealed when Jack shifted into drive and sped out of the car park.

" _Jack?_ " they both heard Gwen over the coms as Olivia sat up, not hearing any more shots as Jack drove through the park to get them back to Torchwood. " _Olivia? Are you alright?_ "

"We're…ok," Olivia replied, looking around with wide eyes at the mess of glass around her. "I hope you guys have good insurance on this thing."

"The best," Jack smirked as he didn't let his foot off the gas. "My guess is, this shape preserver is what our friend St John wanted. He must've lost it when he fell through the rift and he came before it."

"So what're we gonna do?" Olivia wondered.

"We're gonna find out what he _really_ looks like."

* * *

 _Back at the Hub..._

Olivia stared into the mini-cat scanner looking machine in the hub where the metal disk she found in the car park sat, being examined.

"Don't stand too close, your face'll melt," Jack smirked from somewhere behind her and she jerked back from it to turn wide eyes at him but she glared at him when he chuckled at her and Ianto stepped next to her, a mug in each hand.

"It won't," Ianto assured her as she looked to him and he handed a mug to her. "Thought you might need some tea after your adventure in the car park."

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the cup. "And actually, that was nothing compared to being taken hostage by Carnaks for Assimilation."

"Oh, I hate that," Jack agreed as Ianto headed toward him and handed the other mug to him. "It's a _pain_ telepathically repelling them. The Doctor brought you back?"

"I wasn't all the way gone," Olivia smiled, taking a sip of her tea as Jack raised an impressed eyebrow at her.

"Really?" he drawled as Gwen and Ianto frowned at each other before looking back at the two as Olivia nodded. "Have some telepathic training, do you?"

"Nope," Olivia chirped, shaking her head widely, making Jack frown as she shrugged, "I just…did what felt right I guess."

"We'll have to train you then," Jack smirked with a wink making her roll her eyes.

The group jumped when the machine beeped, making Olivia, Ianto and Gwen step toward Jack just as a holographic image popped up in front of them.

"Oh! He's an ugly thing, isn't he?" Jack grinned, setting his mug down on the desk to step in front of the image, examining it as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What's it say, Nova?"

Olivia frowned at him before looking to Gwen for help, and the woman nodded her toward the computer screen next to the machine. Olivia examined it, but frowned in confusion and Gwen sailed up next to her to help her read the information.

"Um…it says he's from the…Messer System," Olivia read out. "Planet…Kalos?"

"Kalos?" Jack echoed with a frown as he looked from the image to her. "You sure you're readin' that right?"

"That's what it says," Gwen confirmed with a nod to him.

"Why's that odd?" Olivia wondered, looking back at him.

"Kalos is a desert planet," Jack replied, looking back at the image of a humanoid body with webbed hands and feet and a head in the shape of an ugly tuna. "I've never seen _anything_ like this come from any of the planets in that system. I know 'em all."

"Maybe you missed one?" Olivia shrugged, but Jack said nothing as he stared at the image in front of him.

"Says here he's an Acipenser," Gwen read from the screen. "Related to that blowfish species we ran into 'bout a year ago."

"Well, _that_ doesn't surprise me at all," Jack muttered before he backed away from the image and turned to head toward his office.

"So what're we doin'?" Olivia called, setting her mug down on the desk to face Jack as he returned, pulling on his military coat.

"You and I are going to catch an alien, gorgeous," Jack smirked with a wink at her as he passed her. "Bring the preserver."

"What do you need us to do, Captain?" Ianto called as Olivia hurriedly grabbed the disk from the scanner and raced after Jack as he headed toward the cog door.

"Hold the fort," Jack replied as Olivia hurried to catch up with him when the alarm for the door went off. "We'll be back. Get a cell ready, preferably between two Weevils."

"Do you _like_ torturing the aliens that drop out of the sky?" Olivia wondered as they both marched toward the lift.

"Only the ones that shoot at me and my friends," he retorted without missing a beat, making Olivia smirk at him as they stopped and turned in the lift.

"So, I'm your friend now?" she smirked, handing him the disk.

"You always were," he smiled back, taking it. "Just took _you_ a while to say it."

"Would've taken longer," she shrugged as the lift took them to the shop above and they looked to each other as she smirked, "…but it's starting to get fun. You were right, Jack. This _isn't_ like traveling with the Doctor…but it's _just_ as exhilarating."

"Glad you called me?" he smirked down at her as the lift came to a stop.

"Don't make me regret it," she confirmed, marching from the lift and he followed, laughing heartily.

* * *

 _Later..._

The Torchwood SUV came to a stop in front of a block of flats, Jack and Olivia inside and pulling their seatbelts off. The pair climbed out and when Olivia walked around the SUV to head inside with Jack he stopped her.

"No, no, no, no, no," he called, gently gripping her arm and pulling her back next to the SUV and making her frown at him in confusion. "You stay out _here_. I need you here in case he rabbits."

"Oh, come _on_ ," she nearly whined. "You can't leave me out here as _back up_!"

"Next time, you can take lead, I promise," he nodded, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "I let you come along because I know you can handle it, but I have to protect you when I deem it necessary. You know the Doctor would have my hide if anything happened to you."

Olivia rolled her eyes before nodding along and he smiled, patting her arms.

"I'll be right back then," he nodded before turning to saunter toward the building, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She sighed as she leaned back on the SUV, crossing her arms in front of her as she glared at Jack's back. She couldn't help but wonder what the Doctor would do in a situation like this, and a moment later, she did the thing she often did since he left her three years ago—she began to talk to him as if he were standing next to her, hearing his voice instead of silence in response.

"Can you believe I'm working for a cowboy?" she smirked.

" _Yes_ ," her Doctor replied without a second's hesitation, leaning with her on the SUV and staring ahead where Jack had disappeared, his arms crossed over his chest. " _You gonna follow him, then?_ "

"Should I?" she frowned, incredulously.

" _You would_ _me_ ," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but that's _you_ ," she smirked. "This is Jack. I don't really know him yet."

" _Then why'd you come here?_ " he questioned with a frown, looking down at her in wonder.

She looked back at him and she couldn't believe how accurately she could envision his face after three years as she murmured, "You know why, Theta."

A crash suddenly caught her attention as she shot her gaze to one of the higher windows.

" _Jack_!"

Olivia screamed as she watched him falling through the air and threw her hands over her mouth to cover her gasp when he landed on the concrete. She ran toward him, her heart racing in panic and her mind reeling as she fell to her knees next to him, pressing her fingers to his neck to find a pulse as he lay on his back but felt nothing. She took his face into her hands and pulled his face toward hers, shuddering as she gave a squeak of terror when his blue eyes stared at her, vacantly.

"Jack, please, get up," she shuddered, tears coming to her eyes. "Come on. The boss can't die on my first day on the job. _Get up_!"

She gave a gasp of shock when something metal pressed against the back of her head.

"Stupid humans," a voice muttered behind her. "Always letting their guard down. If you can understand me, stand up, darling."

Olivia felt her rage flare as she stared down at Jack's body, her hand moving to the band of her pants as she shifted to stand but didn't turn to face him.

"Ooh, someone knows her alien languages, doesn't she?" he mocked, laughing before he added, "Do me a favor and drop your weapon."

She sneered before pulling the Stun Gun from her belt to drop it, raising her hands in surrender before turning to face the shape shifter currently in the form of a middle-aged man with slender build and thinning hair, named St John Kramer.

"Something you should know about me," she began as he held the gun an inch from her nose. "You're not my first."

"I figured that," he retorted. "Where's the disk?"

"What disk?" she lied.

"Don't muck about with me, deary," he warned. "I saw the _both_ of you in the car park. Now tell me where it is and I'll at least let _you_ live."

Olivia gritted her teeth but nodded and swallowed before she replied, "It's in the SUV. I have to get the keys from his pocket."

"Hurry up."

Olivia turned and knelt down next to Jack, feeling the tears prick at her eyes again as she searched his pockets for the keys. She glanced to his face but made a double-take when she realized his eyes were closed. She didn't remember closing them. She frowned at him and her eyes widened at him when his eyes opened again and he gave her a wink but stayed still as he glanced toward one of his hands. He was holding her Stun Gun.

"Hurry it up, dear," St John snapped and she quickly pulled herself together, finding the keys in one of Jack's pockets and slipping her Stun Gun from his hand and slipping it into her pocket.

She leaned forward a bit and whispered, "You have some explaining to do later."

Olivia stood and turned to show the keys to St John as he still held the gun up at her. She marched toward the SUV as the alien followed her and she pretended to fumble with the keys as they reached the driver's side. Her gaze moved to the glass of the tinted window when she caught some movement and smirked when she saw Jack behind the alien shape-shifter, his gun aimed at its head.

"Boo," Jack smirked, making St John jump and swing his gun toward Jack, but Olivia turned as well, pulling the Stun Gun and shoving it into St John's shoulder, pulling the trigger. He seized and fell to the ground between them as they both holstered their weapons. Jack knelt down to lift St John by the shoulders, ordering, "Let's get him into the SUV."

"Look, Jack," Olivia strained from carrying his feet as they made their way to the back. "I'm all for surprises. But I'd like to be given a heads-up if my new boss can _come back to life_!"

They flung the limp alien into the back of the SUV, shutting the door and Jack lifted an arm to wrap it around Olivia's shoulders, walking her around to her side of the SUV.

"It's been a busy day, Nova," he smirked, pressing a kiss to her head before opening her door for her to let her climb in. He stepped next to her as she pulled her seat belt on and assured her, "I'll explain it after this is over, I promise."

"Does it have something to do with the Doctor?" she wondered.

He nodded before adding, "And Rose Tyler."

* * *

 **A/N:** Jack will flirt, won't he? reviews?


	4. Absolutely Necessary

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: Absolutely Necessary**_

" _Let me out of here!_ "

"He's angry," Olivia stated the obvious as she, Jack, Ianto and Gwen watched the shape-shifter in his original form, slamming himself against the walls of his cell as they watched him over the CCTV on Gwen's computer. "He wants to be let out."

"Now, wait a minute," Gwen frowned in wonder. "How can _she_ understand what he's sayin'? I haven't run the translation yet."

"Same way I can," Jack shrugged, drawing Ianto's and Gwen's attentions to him. "The TARDIS gets in your head and translates all languages for you. Thought it would've worn off by now, though."

"We're _special_ ," Olivia grinned, making Jack chuckle.

"Ready, Gwen?" Jack asked.

"Whenever you are," she nodded as Jack lifted the shape preserver from Gwen's desk and stepped toward the stairs.

Olivia hurried after the two, making Ianto frown after her but Jack and Gwen stopped when they heard her footsteps running up behind them, turning to face her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think _you're_ going?" Jack wondered, crossing his arms over his broad chest and making Olivia frown between the two.

"I'm going with you for the interrogation," she replied, matter-of-factly.

"Nope," Jack chirped. "You and Ianto get to watch from the CCTV. You've had enough close encounters for one day. Just stay here."

"But I—!"

"No, Olivia," Jack cut in, firmly. "I need you up here now, ok? Ianto's gonna show you how to work the CCTV and monitoring systems."

Olivia glared at Jack before huffing and turning to march back up the stairs toward Ianto, making Jack smirk as he turned to head to the vaults with Gwen. Olivia plopped herself in the chair as Ianto settled one hand on the back of it to lean over her shoulder.

"Try bringing up the CCTV of the vaults," Ianto instructed, making Olivia frown at the keyboard, lifting her hands over it. "Hold that button down and type in 'cam 4,' no space."

She hesitantly did what he asked and grinned when an image of the vaults appeared as it had before Ianto took it down for her training.

"Camera 4 is always the vaults," Ianto explained. "The ones for the outside get a bit trickier, but once you have it down it'll be easy to remember."

"Do we get sound?" Olivia wondered, ready to type something in.

"It's on the side," he explained, pointing to the side of the screen but letting her use the mouse to turn the volume up just as Jack and Gwen stepped in front of the cell with the shape-shifter in it. "Run the translation matrix."

"And…how do I do that?" she asked, and Ianto showed her how to run the program just as Jack and Gwen began the interrogation.

" _Alright, St John_ ," Jack sighed, sharply as Gwen stood next to him, flipping through a file in her hands. Jack lifted the shape preserver and pinned it between his hand and the wall of his cell, questioning, " _Which image on here is so important that you would shoot at me and my lovely friend, huh? Not to mention toss_ _me_ _out a window from the fifth floor of your building._ "

" _You were dead_ ," St John breathed in disbelief.

" _Ok, let's try this again_ ," Jack replied, leaning on the glass. " _Something easy. What's your real name?_ "

" _Kahleb_ ," he replied.

" _Alright_ ," Jack nodded in approval. " _Now we're getting somewhere. Where are you from?_ "

" _Kalos_ ," Kahleb replied.

" _Wrong answer_ ," Jack retorted. " _Try again_."

" _I'm from Kalos_ ," Kahleb insisted.

" _Lying_ ," Jack sang, finally standing tall and holding the disk at his side.

" _According to our files, the Acipenser species are originally from Lacus_ ," Gwen read out in the file.

" _An Acipenser would_ _die_ _on Kalos_ ," Jack snapped at Kahleb. " _Wanna try again?_ "

Kahleb glared at the two before throwing himself against the walls of his cell in rage, making Gwen jump but both she and Jack remained in their spots, watching him.

" _Make this easy on yourself and talk to us!_ " Jack ordered over his screams.

"Should we go help them?" Olivia asked Ianto as they watched the scene on the computer.

"They'll be fine," Ianto assured her, both spotting Jack turning to the camera.

" _Somebody on the computer scan him, please_ ," he ordered.

"Over here," Ianto instructed Olivia, grabbing the back of her chair and rolling her in her in it toward another computer and instructed her on how to run a scan, which she did successfully. "He'll want the results right away so let's do…this…"

He showed her how to send the image to of their computer screens to the computer in the vaults, then looked to the feed of the pair in the vaults to see Jack give a thumbs-up to the camera.

"Why are we scanning him?" Olivia wondered as they waited for the results with Jack and Gwen in the vaults.

"Jack must think there's something in his system," Ianto explained. "We're now running a full scan of him and the cell."

The computer beeped, catching their attentions and Ianto frowned as he read the results, as did Gwen and Jack from the vaults.

"What's it say?" Olivia frowned in wonder. "I can't read it just yet."

She looked to Ianto as he only stared at the screen.

" _Whoa, you've been having some fun_ ," Jack stated before turning to the cell again. " _Who gave you the methamphetamine?_ "

Kahleb only screamed in rage at him before Jack held up the disk again.

" _What do you need the preserver for?!_ " Jack demanded but Kahleb only threw himself around his cell again.

Olivia tapped her com still in her ear and said, "Jack, you're not gonna get anything out of him."

" _Well, care to share an interrogation technique or two, Miss Felton?_ " he retorted.

"Leave him alone for a bit," she replied, ignoring his snark. "He'll talk."

" _She's right_ ," Gwen agreed as Jack lowered the disk from the glass again to turn toward her. " _The drugs'll wear off in a bit. We just have to wait_."

"Jack! Look out!" Olivia warned as she and Ianto watched in terror as Kahleb punched easily through the Plexiglas of the cell, Jack and Gwen ducking before reaching for their guns.

"Come on!" Ianto told her, hurrying toward the stairs and reaching for his own gun as Olivia pulled her Stun Gun from her pocket and hurried after him.

They soon reached the vaults in time to see Kahleb toss Gwen like a rag doll against a wall, making her scream, but she also pulled the trigger, shooting Kahleb in the foot. Jack aimed his gun at him, but Kahleb shot his arm toward him, extending it to slap Jack's hand up and the gun out of it before snapping it back and hitting Ianto to send him to the ground. His gun skidded toward Olivia's feet just as the tentacle came whizzing toward her and she ducked with a scream, dropping her Stun Gun.

Kahleb looked back to Jack as he stood and extended his arm toward him, wrapping it around his neck and holding him above the ground, slapping the other arm toward Ianto when he stood, slamming him toward the wall and he landed next to Gwen. He groaned and rolled toward Gwen to check on her. Olivia remained knelt down before she looked to the ground to see Ianto's gun at her feet and grabbed it to aim it at the alien, her hands shaking as she held it with both.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," she whispered before pulling the trigger once…hitting Kahleb in the back of his head as he faced Jack.

His head jerked before his body fell to the ground, his arm releasing Jack who fell to all fours, gasping for breath. Olivia stared wide eyes at Kahleb as he twitched a few times on the ground before settling, green liquid oozing from his wound and Jack struggled to get to his feet and head toward her.

"Alright, Olivia," he murmured in a raw voice, holding his hands toward her to take the gun. "It's over. You can lower the gun."

She swallowed, still shaking as she stared at Kahleb, a tear running down her cheek as she slowly lowered the gun and it easily slipped from her hands when Jack took it from her. She felt her stomach turn then flip and felt bile rise to her throat, turning just in time to keep from puking all over Jack's shoes and instead dumped the load onto the floor.

"Olivia!" Ianto called, running toward her, switching places with Jack as he rushed toward Gwen to help her up when she finally awoke and groaned from the pain in her head and limbs. Ianto leaned over to rub Olivia's back soothingly as she coughed and murmured, "You alright?"

"Fine," she nodded, her voice raw as she stood tall and sneered at the mess she made glancing to Ianto in shame and muttering, "Sorry."

"We've had to clean up worse," he assured her.

"Gwen," Olivia called, stumbling toward her and wiping her mouth on her sleeve as the other woman stood with Jack's help. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Gwen groaned, rubbing her head where she'd hit it to make sure she wasn't bleeding, gripping Jack's arm to stay steady. "Might need a check-up in the medical bay."

"Ianto, get the girls to the main hub and I'll get started on this clean-up," Jack ordered, handing Gwen over to Ianto who reached toward her to hold her steady.

"I'll help," Olivia said, clearing her throat as the men looked to her. "I'm fine. I don't need looking at. Let me help, Jack."

Jack stared at Olivia in evaluation before giving a nod and approving, "Alright. You can start by gathering our things and cleaning up your mess."

"No," Ianto objected. "I'll take care of it after looking at Gwen."

"You wanna pamper me, Ianto? You get me a cup of tea after taking care of Gwen," Olivia smiled, patting his shoulder as she passed him to begin gathering their weapons. She turned and tossed Jack's gun to him which he caught effortlessly as Ianto and Gwen left the vaults without further argument, and she tucked her Stun Gun into her pocket again, asking, "What can I clean that up with?"

"You're not cleaning anything up," Jack corrected, making her frown as she still held Ianto's and Gwen's guns. He marched toward her and gently gripped her arms to back her into the open cell and sat her on the seat against the wall. "You stay there and _I'll_ take care of this, like I said I would."

"Jack, I'm fine," she insisted through a weak smile as he took the guns from her hands and sat them next to her.

"The hell you are," he shot back, shrugging off his huge coat. "You just shot and killed someone. You need to relax, 'cause it's gonna sink in any minute now."

Olivia said nothing as he swept his coat around her shoulders and pulled the collar tighter around her before looking up at her, smiling reassuringly as he lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. He stood and turned to get to work as she sat quietly for a moment, thinking deeply.

"Jack?" she called just as he stepped out of the cell and he stopped and turned to face her, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

"I want you to teach me how to shoot."

Jack frowned, crossing his arms over his broad chest and keeping an even eye on her as he recalled, "You didn't even wanna _carry_ a gun before. I thought this would just repel you even more. What's changed?"

"I just found out how bad my aim is."

"I thought you did pretty well."

"I was aiming for his leg."

* * *

 _Evening..._

"Go home Gwen," Jack ordered, shooing her toward the door with both hands as Olivia sat at her desk, typing up her report, Ianto leaning next to her, helping when she had questions. "Rhys is probably worried sick about you. Be sure to let him know we checked you out and that you'll only have a little bump on your head."

"But my report—"

"Take care of it tomorrow," Jack interrupted her, waving her toward the stairs. "Go on. Have dinner, watch telly and give Rhys a big sloppy kiss for me."

"Oi! That's my husband you're flirtin' with now!" Gwen grinned, before hurrying down the stairs and toward the door. "I'll see you all tomorrow then!"

All three called out their good byes as Jack waved then turned to step toward Olivia's desk as she grinned in satisfaction.

"All done!" she chirped and Ianto nodded with a smile before Jack placed a firm hand on his shoulder, catching his attention as he stood.

"Go wait for me in my office," Jack whispered into his ear. "I'll be there in a bit."

He made sure Olivia was still focusing on her screen before placing a light kiss on Ianto's ear, making the younger man swallow in anticipation.

"Alright, Supernova," Jack sighed, stepping away from Ianto to grip her hand and pull her away from the desk. "Let's get your lessons done so you can head home too. Been a long day for all of us."

Olivia frowned when she noticed Ianto heading into Jack's office and looked to him as he led her through the hub, asking, "Why's Ianto going into your office?"

"He's taking care of some paperwork for me," he lied, smoothly and Olivia frowned in wonder but had no time to question him further as they went down a flight of stairs and through a huge door leading to what looked like an obstacle course, a table set up with all sorts of weapons.

"Alright, Olivia Felton," he grinned, pulling her hand and twirling her, making her giggle before he pulled her toward the table, standing next to her. "The girl with terrible aim will learn how to shoot tonight. Hopefully well."

"Look, I don't need to become professional with these things, I just wanna have the skill to at least shoot what I'm aiming at when it's absolutely necessary," she explained. "I'm fine with my Stun Gun, but only if I must, I'll carry a gun."

"Gotcha," Jack nodded before looking to the table of assorted pistols and lifting a medium sized one and handing it to her. "Alright, take this, and make sure you don't aim it at me or yourself."

"Very funny," she muttered as he showed her how to load a round into the chamber then turned to the table to lift two pairs of shooting glasses and headsets, handing her a set to let her put them on.

"Ok, you're gonna stand here…" he instructed, taking her arms to sidestep her to her mark then taking her hands into his, the gun in hers. "Hold this with both hands. All the guns I teach you to shoot you're gonna hold with both hands. I won't teach you anything elaborate since you won't be using 'em that much."

"Well, thanks," she smiled. "Less for me to remember."

When he stepped back from her she lifted the gun with both hands, her feet spread wide and Jack frowned at her in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask, making her frown at him.

"I'm getting ready to shoot," she replied, lowering her gun.

"No wonder you didn't _hit_ what you were aiming at, if you were standing like _that_ ," he smirked, making her glare at him as he approached her and stopped behind her. "Who do you think you are? James Bond?"

"Funny guy," Olivia drawled before facing forward again and shrugging, "Then show me how to stand."

"Align your feet to your shoulders," he instructed, watching her feet shift into place.

He stepped directly behind her, making her stiffen as the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. She frowned when she felt his hands slip to her forearms and bring her gun up as the first target came up and caught her attention.

"Is that a picture of a Weevil?" she frowned in wonder.

"Yes, it is," he murmured into her ear, making her jump and he gave a low chuckle. "Is that a problem?"

"I'm not shooting at a Weevil, Jack," she reported, unwavering.

"It's not a Weevil," he reminded her, unmoving. "It's a _picture_ of a Weevil."

"Nope," she chirped, shaking her head. "Can't do it. And do me a favor, get off me, Harkness."

Jack laughed as he stood tall and took a small step back from her, shoving his hands into his pockets and smirking at her as she examined her gun.

"And wipe that smirk off your face," she replied, lifting the gun again and making his smirk widen.

"Damn, you're perceptive, aren't you?" he noticed, watching her stance then adding, "You're gonna get some recoil and you need to catch yourself so plant your feet. Grip the gun firmly and _squeeze_ the trigger, slowly. No, don't lean your head down like that. Tell me you're not holding one eye shut."

He stepped up to her and held her arms as he had before, making her glare at him over her shoulder.

"Hey, quit with the stink eye, will ya?" he retorted, turning his gaze back to the gun. "Head up, and you wanna align this mark between these two, and set the target right above the mark."

"Ok," she nodded, now concentrating on shooting.

She swallowed and as Jack kept his hands on her arms, he felt her start to tremble. He leaned his head to look at her and heard her breaths coming in shallow as she stared wide eyes ahead.

"Olivia?" he murmured, setting his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezing them. "You don't have to do this."

She said nothing as he set a hand on hers and lowered the gun again, realizing that what she'd done earlier was sinking in a bit more. He slid the gun from her hand and set it on the table near them before taking the headset off, then taking hers and setting them aside as well. He turned just in time to catch her when she threw her arms around him, making him stare down at her in shock.

"He'd be so disappointed in me," she shuddered as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, feeling her shudder. "I _killed_ a creature from another planet! I've never even harmed a _human_ , never mind an _alien_!"

"Nova, you saved us," he murmured. "And sure, the Doctor would be upset a bit, but he would forgive you, given the circumstances. He's had to take a few lives himself. I told you this wasn't like being with him."

"I know," she sniffled, before pulling away enough to let him look down at her as she wiped her face. "I just wanna make him proud of me. That's what all of this is for. Everything I've done has been for him."

"And I'm sure when he comes back for you he _will_ be proud, despite anything you might've done that would upset him," he assured her, lifting his hands to brush stray tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as she met his gaze. "I guarantee it, Olivia."

She swallowed and smiled, weakly before giving a nod and he planted a kiss to her forehead before pulling his shooting glasses off as she did with hers, both setting them on the table.

"No guns for today," he announced, slinging an arm over her shoulders as they stepped toward the door. "No guns for you… _ever_. The Doctor wouldn't like it if I showed you how to shoot anyway."

"He probably wouldn't," she agreed as they headed back toward the main hub and she frowned in wonder, recalling, "You never told me why you can't die."

"I'll tell you tomorrow," he smiled. "That's a very long story and you need rest because it's been a _long_ day."

"Oh, fine," she grumbled as they reached the main hub and he lowered his arm from her shoulders to head toward his office but she called, "Hey. Where do you sleep?"

He stopped outside the door and looked to her in all seriousness, making her slight smile drop as he replied, "I don't."

* * *

 **A/N:** i decided against her using a gun. reviews?


	5. Welcoming a Captain

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4: Welcoming a Captain**_

 _Darkness surrounded her, but she could hear voices. Jack, Gwen and Ianto were calling out to her, but she couldn't see them._

" _Jack?!" she called. "I can hear you! Jack! Where are you?!"_

 _She gave a gasp when an unfamiliar face came into view and she felt her heart race in panic._

 _He lifted a hand, pressing his index finger to her forehead, miming a gun and he whispered, "Bang."_

"Doctor!" Olivia screamed as she shot up in her bed, panting for breath as a cold sweat covered her body. She jumped and shouted with a start when the alarm next to her bed went off a second later and she stared at it before sighing, tiredly. "I am _not_ drinking before bed any more."

She shoved the covers off and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, hearing the rain pattering against her windows and roof. She silently swore she would never get used to all this rain as she trudged toward her closet to pick her outfit for the day and when she shut the door to her closet, instead of seeing her own reflection, the Doctor was standing in her mirror.

" _You called?_ " he grinned that grin she could never forget as she tossed her clothes onto the bed.

"Bad dream," she replied. "Reflex."

" _I know_ ," he nodded disappearing as she turned to head down the hall to the kitchen for her breakfast. He reappeared leaning back on the counter as she opened the fridge for milk then opened a cupboard for a bowl and the only box of cereal in her house as he noticed, " _You need more food and dishware, Liv_."

"Really? 'Cause I hadn't noticed," she shot back, fixing her food. "Wanna be there when I decorate, too?"

" _Might I suggest painting the place TARDIS blue?_ " he smiled as she pulled a plastic spoon from the bag she'd gotten when she picked up a few things from the store with Jack the day before.

"So I can be reminded of you every day?" she shot back, starting at her food. "No thanks. I think of you enough already. I was thinking of dousing everything in purple."

" _How very you_ ," he smiled, then asked, " _Enjoying your time at Torchwood?_ "

"Oh, yeah," she scoffed. "It's a blast. I got shot at by an alien, found out my boss was Immortal and shot an alien dead. And that was just my first day. Can't _wait_ to see what happens today."

" _Oi_ ," he called, making her look up at her image of him as he grinned, " _I miss you, Liv_."

She stared at him a moment, feeling her heart clench before she breathed, "How do I know that? You're not really _my_ Doctor, are you? _My_ Doctor hasn't even called or visited me in three years, so how the hell am I supposed to know that you miss me?"

In that instant his image faded and she sighed, looking back to her bowl in her hand and stabbing her cereal with her spoon.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

 _Torchwood Hub..._

Olivia didn't look up from her computer as she heard the alarm for the cog and caged door sounding, Jack, Gwen and Ianto all strolling in. The three stopped and frowned around the room in wonder when they realized everything was up and running before they looked to Olivia and headed toward her.

"You're late," she called, still typing as Jack marched toward her, still frowning. "I was under the impression work starts at eight."

"It's eight ten," Jack replied as Gwen sat at her desk to start up her computer. "How long have you been here?"

"Seven forty-five," she replied as Jack leaned on her desk next to her. "The walk here was shorter than I anticipated."

"Olivia, don't do this," he murmured, making her frown and glance at him, still typing as she looked back at the screen.

"Don't do what? Work?" she retorted.

Jack gently settled his hand over both of hers, making her stop and look up at him as he explained, "Don't get in so deep that you forget everything else. You've still got a life on Earth that _isn't_ alien."

Olivia nodded in thought before replying, "Then I'll need a week out of every month to visit my mom and Aaron in California."

"Alright," Jack nodded, standing tall and shoving his hands into his pockets. "If that's what you need, you can have it. No calls, no matter how much we might need you back. One week."

"Oh, yes, because you were all lost before I showed up, right?" she smirked, turning back to her computer and he frowned at the screen as she began typing again.

"What are you working on?" he wondered, leaning next to her again to see images of stars on the screen as she typed names into the slots on the side of the screen.

"Work in progress," she replied, not looking at him. "And when I'm finished, you'll see how I can be _more_ than useful when it comes to things like this."

"I see you've become efficient in using the computers, then," Ianto smiled, coming up next to Olivia opposite Jack to look at what she was doing. "Looks like I'm no longer needed."

"Shame on you, Ianto Jones. These guys would be lost without your delicious coffee and wonderful smile every morning," Olivia smiled, glancing up at him with a wink, making Jack frown at her then at Ianto who only shrugged before patting Olivia's shoulder and strolling toward Gwen to have a look at what she was working on.

"Why are you flirting with Ianto?" Jack whispered, leaning closer to do so and making her frown at him.

"I was paying him a compliment," she replied, looking back to the screen. "And so what if I flirt to make friends? You do it all the time! And if you think _that's_ bad, me and Aaron can really get into flirting matches. He usually wins, though."

"But that's _my_ , thing," Jack argued. " _I'm_ the flirt around here, remember?"

"Oh, I didn't realize I was tromping on your territory," Olivia snickered, still not looking at him. "Ok, I won't flirt. I'll be the cute one on the computer that doesn't talk to anyone. How's that?"

"I didn't mean it like that, Nova," he replied. "Just caught me off guard. You don't usually do that."

"Maybe I'm getting comfortable?" she shrugged. "I _should_ be after all the shit I went through yesterday."

"You wanted action," Jack recalled, shrugging a shoulder as well. "You got it."

"Then I want a day off," she shot back. "Maybe I'll take that week early."

A now familiar beeping came from Gwen's computer and Jack hurried toward her before she even had a chance to announce to the group that the rift had opened. Olivia quickly saved her progress before standing and hurrying toward Gwen's computer to lean an arm on Jack's shoulder as the three stared at the screen, Ianto hurrying toward them as well.

"Rift activity?" she guessed.

"Yeah," Gwen hummed, typing at her keyboard.

"Where?" Jack questioned. The image on the computer changed to a map, a red dot indicating where the rift had opened and everyone's eyes widened in shock. "No…"

"Is that…right _above_ us?" Ianto questioned.

"Yes it is, Mr. Jones," Olivia confirmed in a breath.

"But that's impossible," Gwen replied. "Nothing's ever come in _above_ us."

"First time for everything," Jack replied. "Go to the CCTV."

Gwen did as he ordered and brought up all the cameras on different screens on the computer to have all angles around the base.

"Look," Olivia urged, pointing to one of the screens. "Movement on camera two. Looks like a guy."

Gwen made the screen zoom in to get a better look at the man sauntering toward the sculpture where the Invisible Lift was located.

"Who's that?" she frowned as the three around stared wide eyes at the screen.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Jack snapped, making Olivia frown at him in wonder.

"I thought we were done with him," Gwen muttered.

"So did I," Jack replied, reaching for his gun but not pulling it as Olivia frowned around at the group before looking back at the screen to watch the man. "Let him in."

"Jack?" Ianto questioned as Olivia's eyes widened at the screen.

"He knows where the block is?!" she chirped, watching Jack head down the stairs to stand where the Invisible Lift would come down. "How does he know where the Invisible Block is?! Jack?!"

"Not now, Olivia," Ianto warned, gently, making her frown at him incredulously.

"Ianto, who _is_ this guy?" she questioned.

"We've dealt with him before," he replied, vaguely. "I'm sorry you're about to meet him."

Olivia gave a frown before looking to the lift as it lowered then hurried to head down the stairs. Ianto reached toward her to stop her but she was already out of reach, making him grip air. She ran up next to Jack as he waited for the block to come down and he frowned to her in disbelief when he caught sight of her.

"What the hell are you doing?" he questioned when the block was halfway down to them and she looked back at him.

"I wanna know who this guy is," Olivia retorted. "Figured the best way to find that out is to introduce myself."

"Olivia, trust me, you _don't_ wanna know this guy," he warned, meeting her gaze evenly.

"Ok, I'm gonna explain this to you, because the Doctor seemed to understand this fairly quickly, but _you're_ a bit slow on the uptake," she replied, then placed her hands on his shoulders to look him in the eyes. "The more you tell me _not_ to do something, the more I wanna do it, and you have _no chance_ of persuading me otherwise after something catches my curiosity."

"I know," he retorted. "That's why you got the job but _this_ is completely different."

They both looked to the block when it stopped and Jack turned to the man with a disapproving glare as Olivia stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. He was an inch or so shorter than Jack, she could tell even though he was standing on the foot thick cement block, with dark hair and light eyes and dramatic features. He wore a red and gold cavalry jacket over a tan shirt, jeans and brown field boots, pistols in their holsters on both hips and a samurai sword hanging from his belt.

She'd seen that face…in her dream the night before.

"Well, don't I get a 'hello'?" the man questioned Jack before looking to Olivia and smiling, devilishly. "Or maybe an introduction to your gorgeous new team member?"

Jack sighed sharply before replying, "Captain John Hart, this is Olivia Felton. Olivia, this is John. Now what do you want?"

"What? No hug?" John smirked at Jack before looking back at Olivia as she still stared at him and smirked, "Like what you see, darling?"

"What do you want?" Jack ordered, slowly, taking Olivia's hand to pull her behind him and she stumbled into place, still staring at John.

"So rude," John shot back, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops as he stared down at Jack. "I came to ask you favor."

"Yeah, I figured that," Jack retorted. "You never show up without a favor to ask."

"I take it you found my friend Kahleb?" John guessed, making both Olivia and Jack frown at him in wonder. It brought Olivia back to reality and out of her shock.

"He was your _friend_?" Olivia breathed, drawing both their attentions to her and John smirked at her.

"So, she speaks," he smiled. "And such a nice voice too. American, yes?"

"California," she replied, stepping out from behind Jack but he kept a grip on her wrist. "Kahleb was your friend?"

"Well, I say 'friend'," John shrugged. "More like 'bounty'."

"You're _bounty hunting_ now?" Jack guessed before nodding, "Suits you."

"Yeah, yeah, save your smart arse remarks, please. I'm on a _bit_ of a tight schedule," John replied. "Where is he? I know you've probably got him locked up somewhere."

"We don't," Jack replied, letting go of Olivia's hand to shove his into his pockets as John frowned between the two.

"Well, where is he?" John questioned.

"I shot him," Olivia replied without hesitation, making John stare at her with wide eyes. "He's dead."

"Where's his body?" John demanded, looking to Jack.

"Incinerated," Jack replied, making John march down the steps and straight toward Jack to glare at him.

" _Incinerated_?!" he growled. "Do you know how much money I was going to get for him?!"

"We didn't even _know_ there was a bounty on him," Jack shrugged, calmly. "Hell, we didn't even know _what_ he was, let alone that _you_ were hunting him. Personally, I would've kept him in my custody just to keep him away from _you_ , if I'd known."

"Well, you're gonna pay me back for it," John ordered. "You're gonna pay me every cent I would've gotten for him."

"Oh, I _am_ , am I?" Jack smirked sarcastically, crossing his arms in front of him. "And how much was this bounty-head of yours?"

"Fifty thousand credits," John replied, mirroring his stance.

"You're hilarious," Jack chuckled. "I'm not paying that."

"I saved your _life_!" John snapped.

"Don't move," Olivia cut in with a low tone, her Stun Gun raised to John's head.

Jack said nothing as John's eyes widened at her, and Jack glanced down at John's hand to see it resting on the handle of his gun. He smirked as he looked back at John's face and scoffed.

"You don't miss a thing, do ya, Nova?" he smirked, leaning forward to slip John's pistols from his holsters as Olivia kept her eye on John who didn't move.

"Try not to," she replied as Jack looked to Ianto and Gwen, waving them over. Gwen was the first to step up to Jack's side, taking the weapons and handing them to Ianto before Jack took the sword from John's belt.

"Oh, lovely, the Eye Candy gets my guns," John muttered. "He'd better be careful with those. Little boys shouldn't play with big toys."

"Shut up!" Olivia snarled, tapping the Stun Gun to John's head and making the three team members look up at her with frowns each. "Say another word and you'll get a Stun Gun shot to the head that I'm not sure you'll survive."

"Olivia?" Jack called, making her glance at him but she didn't move. "We've got this. Maybe you should go sit down?"

"I'm fine, Jack," she objected. "Get the rest of his weapons. He's gotta have more."

"Not this time," John replied and Jack gave him an un-amused glare. "You think I'd lie in this position?"

"Yes," Jack nodded, matter-of-factly.

"Well I'm not," John insisted.

"Jack, we can take care of this," Gwen told him, making him look to her and she glanced at Olivia, still holding the Stun Gun to John's head. "Do you want him in the vaults?"

"No," Jack replied in thought, looking to Olivia who hadn't moved as John swallowed and glanced at her in worry. "Keep him here. Get the rest of his weapons and lock them away until we figure out how to get him back to where he came from."

Jack stared at Olivia as he lifted a hand to rest it on hers, making her look to him with wide eyes as he stepped closer to murmur, "Lower it, Olivia. We've got this."

She looked to John before lowering her gaze along with the Stun Gun and Jack took the thing from her before gently taking her arm to pull her toward the conference room. She said nothing as Jack pulled her inside, shutting the door behind him and he sat her in one of the chairs, setting the Stun Gun on the table before leaning one hand on the table, standing in front of her.

"What was that?" he questioned, making Olivia glance up at him then lower her gaze to her hands in her lap as she pulled at her fingers. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about either. You lost it in there for no reason."

"I _had_ a reason," she argued softly, making Jack raise his brows and stand tall to cross his arms over his chest, expectantly as she looked back at him.

"Care to share?" he prompted, making her look back to her hands.

She shrugged slightly before replying, "He was gonna try to shoot you. It pissed me off."

"Don't lie to me, Felton," he warned, making her shoot her jade gaze to him before he knelt down in front of her to rest a hand on both of hers still sitting on her lap. "You can trust me, you know? I'm your friend, too."

"Why?" she breathed, making him frown at her in wonder before she explained. "Why are you treating me so well? Since I met you you've found a place for me to stay, taken me shopping, and done everything you can to get me to like you, and now you want me to confide in you. Why?"

Jack took in a slow breath and gave a sigh before turning his gaze to her hands, playing with her fingers. This interrogation had just been turned around.

"You've traveled with the Doctor," he explained, not looking from their hands. "You're the only person here that understands what it's like with him, and now you've seen how different it is here."

"So this is about _your_ feelings?" she replied, and that made him look up at her in all seriousness.

"You're not the only one who feels like they've let the Doctor down with their actions," he shot back, making her stare at him in surprise. "I've done things that I'm not proud of and that I _know_ he would hate me for. But even when I remind myself I have to work with what I've got, it's not always enough to lift the guilt. I don't want you to feel that way, and I wanna protect you because you're the Doctor's girl. If anything happened to you…I don't even wanna think about what he'd do, let alone how _I'd_ feel. Like I said before, keeping tabs on you is one thing, but you've turned out to be so much more than what Martha and I thought. I don't want you to lose yourself with all of this and worrying about what the Doctor would think of what you're doing. It can happen too easily."

Olivia nodded, letting everything he said sink in before looking him in the eye and smirking, "Thanks, but the Doctor knows I can take care of myself."

"You and I both know it doesn't matter," he smirked back. "He'd still be angry and probably kill me if anything happened to you."

"Well, it's a good thing you can't die then," she smirked before patting his hand and leaning forward to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "I'm sorry about what happened in there. Won't happen again."

"I was kinda hoping you'd pull the trigger," Jack smirked. "I don't really wanna deal with him right now…or for a while."

"Who is he, Jack?" Olivia questioned. "You still haven't told me, Ianto kept a tight lip when I asked and Gwen didn't say a word either."

"He and I worked together in the past," Jack replied. "Back when I was a Time Agent. That was a _long_ time ago…well, long for me. Time travel. You understand."

"Oh, of course," Olivia shrugged, nodding along before giving a frown and Jack smiled in amusement.

"He and I were partners," he continued. "I know him better than anybody, which means you don't go anywhere near him without me, got it?"

"Jack, did you not hear me when I said I can take care of myself?" she reminded him. "You don't need to protect me."

"This is the first time you'll be dealing with him being here, so you don't know how he can be," Jack continued. "He's a compulsive liar, he's manipulative, charming, flirty, but deadly. He won't think twice before trying to kill you if he thinks he can get something out of it.

"Ground rules: Don't believe a word he says. Keep him in front of you at all times and, please, Olivia, whatever you do…do _not_ let him kiss you."

"Oh, my God, Jack, don't be so stupid," she replied, irritably. "I mean, sure he's kinda hot, but he's obviously an ass and, from what you've told me, probably a psychopath."

"Oh, good," Jack grinned, standing from kneeling in front of her the whole time and placing his hands on her shoulders, still looking her in the eyes. "So you won't go near him, right? Thanks, Nova. You're a gem."

"Yeah, yeah, fine," she replied, waving him off as she stood and he slung an arm around her neck as they headed toward the door. "I won't go near him."

"Well, that's a load off my mind," he smiled, pulling her close to press a kiss to her head.

She smiled sweetly at him before looking ahead as they entered the main hub again, Jack lowering his arm from her shoulders to march toward John as he turned from facing Gwen and Ianto.

"You're staying in the vaults until we decide what to do with you," Jack told him, gripping his arm and dragging him toward the vaults…heading toward Olivia.

"Does Miss California get to keep me company?" he smirked as Jack pulled him passed her, but she gripped Jack's arm as he passed to stop him.

She stepped up to John, looking him in the eye as she smirked devilishly up at him before murmuring, "Trust me, Captain, you couldn't _handle_ my company."

"Olivia," Jack called in warning.

"You tell me when you're ready for me to accept that challenge, darling," John smirked back before Jack yanked him away from her and toward the vaults as Ianto and Gwen came up to Olivia as she still stared at Jack dragging John away.

"You alright, Olivia?" Gwen hoped, drawing the other woman's attention to her. "You seemed a bit…on edge earlier when John showed up."

"Oh…yeah, I'm fine now," she smiled. "I'm just still shaken from that shooting in the vaults, I guess. Thanks, Gwen."

"We'd better get to monitoring him," Ianto suggested. "Who knows what he'll do to get out."

The girls nodded and they all turned to head back to the desks, Olivia's mind reeling. How could the man from her dream the night before be here, now, at Torchwood? It didn't make sense to her. Something was going on, and she decided that when Jack, Ianto and Gwen left the Hub at some point, she would have a little chat with Captain John Hart and hopefully get some answers.

* * *

 **A/N:** i'm sorry...i couldn't resisit. I love John Hart, and I HAD to. reviews?


	6. Insubordination

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5: Insubordination**_

"You gonna be ok on your own, Olivia?" Gwen called as she, Jack and Ianto headed toward the cog door at lunch.

"I'll be fine," she smiled, leaning sideways on Gwen's computer at the top of the stairs. "I can call you if anything happens. Bring me a doggie bag!"

"Will do!" Jack called as the three headed out the door.

She watched the doors shut before turning to march toward her own computer to bring up the CCTV view of outside. She watched patiently as the three strolled off, making sure they were truly on their way before she made her move. She grabbed her Stun Gun from her desk and shoved it into her belt, behind her back and hurried back down the stairs and headed toward the vaults.

Olivia slowed her march when she stepped through the door and looked into the cells where Weevils lurked, stepping toward the glass to watch her. Some cells were empty, but only one held the person she wanted to talk to. She stopped in front of the cell but didn't approach it as she watched Captain John Hart lying on the seat of concrete sticking out from the wall. She said nothing, even when he looked to the glass of his cell and grinned, shifting to stroll toward the glass and lean forward on it.

"Ready for me to show you how _easily_ I can handle you?" he smirked.

"Who are you?" she only replied, making him frown in wonder.

"You know who I am," he replied. "Captain John Hart. Are you alright, love?"

"I've never met you," she ground out, marching toward the glass and John took a step back at the fire in her eyes as she glared at him. "I've never _ever_ met you before."

"Ok…"John drawled, glancing around in wonder before leaning forward on the glass again with a smirk. "Is this some sort of new interrogation tactic?"

"Have we ever met before today?" Olivia demanded, looking his face over as if analyzing every inch of it then breathed, "No…we couldn't have. I'd…remember."

"Oh, believe me," he smirked, leaning closer to the glass. "I'd remember too."

"Shut up," she murmured, making him frown at her in wonder.

"Well, do you want me answer the question or not?" John questioned.

"Shut up!" she snapped, backing away from the glass again to pace in front of it. "I've never met you and you've never met me…so how could I have that dream about you when we don't even know each other?"

"Ooh, you had a dream about me?" John smirked, leaning heavily on a forearm against the glass. "Was I doing something naughty?"

Olivia marched toward the glass again to glare at him and he didn't move as he only smirked down at her through the glass.

"What are you?" she growled.

"What the hell are you on about, darling?" John scoffed, but jumped back when Olivia slammed a hand against the glass in front of his face.

"What are you?!" she shouted. "No _human_ could enter my dreams like that! So what are you?!"

John only stared at her for a moment before taking a step back and lifting his hands in surrender, shrugging, "Alright. Ya caught me!"

Olivia frowned incredulously at his ease in surrender then took a step back from the glass, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Jack told me not to trust you," she finally replied.

"Yeah, and I'll bet he told you to stay away from me, too," he smirked. "And yet, here you are."

"Why is he angry with you if you were partners all those years ago?" she asked, stepping closer to the glass again.

"There was a bit of a mishap when we last met," he replied. "He might still be a _bit_ upset about that. I did kill him several times."

"I can't imagine why he'd be upset," Olivia replied, sarcastically. "I certainly wouldn't hold a grudge if I was killed several times by a former partner."

"Let me out and I'll tell you all about it," he smirked, leaning on the glass.

"Oh, like I'm gonna fall for that," she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "I may be pretty, but I'm not _stupid_. We're talking just fine right now while you're _in_ the cell."

"Alright, fine," he muttered. "I'm human. I don't know why you had that dream, but I might have a way to help you out with that."

"And why should I believe you on _that_? You've already lied to me once," she shot back, unsurprised by his confession.

"All Time Agents get telepathic training," John smirked. "Jack really hasn't told you much, has he?"

"This is my second day here."

"And he's already so protective of you?"

"I'm special. Jealous?"

"Of what? He hasn't shagged you yet."

"And never will, but answer my question. Why should I believe you?"

"Because Jack warned you about me, but you came down here anyway. You want answers? I can help you find them. I think part of you knows that."

Olivia stared at him suspiciously, but stepped toward the side door to open it, pulling her Stun Gun from her belt when she saw John step to the center of the cell. She aimed the gun toward him as she entered and shut the door behind her, making him lift his hands in surrender.

"You try anything weird, and I use this on you, got it?" she warned, firmly.

"Crystal clear, love," he smirked as she cautiously stepped closer but kept the Stun Gun aimed at him.

"Alright," she replied, glancing around. "Now I know you need contact for a telepathic link, so put your arms out. I'm not getting too close."

"Had some experience with this, have you?" he smirked, lifting his hands to match her height.

"Some," she replied, slowly stepping closer. "My boyfriend is…unique."

"I knew there was something interesting about you," he still smirked as she stepped closer so that her head was between his hands, the Stun Gun still aimed at him. "Now I need you to relax. Close your eyes and take a deep breath."

"Close my eyes," he scoffed. "Hilarious. You can enter my mind either way."

 _Blimey, this one's cleverer than I thought_ , he thought, placing his hands on either side of her head, but didn't attempt to enter her mind, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Any time, Captain," she prompted, irritably.

Time for plan B.

John gripped her head and yanked her face toward his to plant his lips to hers, making her eyes shoot wide. She quickly shoved the Stun Gun into his gut, pulling the trigger, making him push her away as he seized before they stumbled away from each other and both tried to catch their breath, but Olivia was feeling a bit off kilter.

"Wha…What did you do to me?" she demanded, breathlessly as she struggled to stay on her feet but leaned back against the wall of the cell.

"Jack gave you the rules," John smirked, recovering from the short Stun Gun blast, but couldn't quite walk properly yet. "He must've told you not to kiss me."

Olivia said nothing as she focused on trying to get to the door, but her legs and the rest of her limbs were giving out on her.

"Paralyzing lip gloss, darling," John smirked, standing and stepping slowly toward her. He pulled the Stun Gun from her hand as she flopped onto the floor then gripped her hand to drag her away from it.

"No…" she breathed as she slid easily on the floor and he let her fall to the ground completely, rolling her onto her back to hover over her.

"Two hours," John explained. "If Jack and the Eye Candy don't find you in two hours, you'll be dead."

She tried to speak but the paralysis was spreading rapidly to every muscle.

"You know, you really are clever," he told her. "I thought this would be easy: getting you in the cell or having you get me out so I could make my escape. But you made me work for it. Haven't had a challenge in a while. Cheers, darling."

Her breathing quickened as she watched him head toward the door and try to open it, using a wristband on his arm she hadn't noticed before. He frowned as he pressed the buttons and tried the door, but nothing worked, and when he spun around to glare at her, she would have smiled if he hadn't paralyzed her.

"What did you do?" he snapped, marching toward her to kneel next to her and demand again, "What did you do?!"

"Olivia!"

John whirled around, Olivia's eyes shooting to the door as Jack, Ianto and Gwen came into view of the glass, Jack marching straight for the door with Ianto right behind.

"Get away from her!" Jack snapped at John as he marched in, gripping John's collar when he didn't move fast enough and shoving him against the wall as Ianto and Gwen ran in to help Olivia.

"He's paralyzed her," Gwen reasoned, knowing the symptoms of John's paralyzing lip gloss. "We need to get her to the med bay."

"She didn't listen to you, Jack," John smirked. "You need to put a leash on that one. She'll look good on a leash, don't you think?"

"If she dies, you'll have more than _me_ to deal with," Jack growled at him as Ianto pulled the limp Olivia into his arms to carry her out of the cell, Gwen leading the way to the medical bay.

"What? Her 'unique' boyfriend?" John smirked, smugly then scoffed, "He can't be _that_ unique."

"You better pray you don't find out," Jack warned, shoving away from him and marching out the door, shutting it behind him before stepping in front of the glass. "As soon as there's another rift opening nearby, you're leaving. Until then, you _stay here_."

"I thought we were past this," John called as Jack was about to turn, but he turned back to look John in the eye as he approached the glass. "I did good last time I was here…after the bad stuff I mean, but I _did_ try to warn you."

"Old habits die hard, John," Jack replied. "And you just poisoned my new team member. You think that's gonna get you a gold star?"

"Look, I wanted to get out of here while you guys were away. I knew you'd find her before the two hours were up."

"And it's _that_ kind of carelessness that's the reason you're staying here in the vaults," Jack shot back. "I'll come back and tell you how she's doing… _if_ you care to know, that is."

He didn't wait for a response as he turned to march down the hall and toward the main hub. He raced up the stairs then hurried toward the medical bay but stayed behind the railing as he watched Gwen and Ianto mill around Olivia as she lay in the chair in the center of the room. His heart raced when he noticed her eyes were closed.

"How is she?" he asked, drawing their attention to her for a moment before they looked back to what they were doing.

"She'll be fine," Gwen assured him. "We put her under sedation so she won't thrash as much when the paralysis wears off, like I did when he did this to me. She'll only twitch a bit from her muscles starting to work again."

As if on cue, one of her feet twitched and Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"She'll need to sleep off the sedation," Ianto told them.

"I'll take her to my office," Jack replied. "She can sleep there and I'll watch her. I've got paperwork to do for UNIT anyway."

"Is John staying in the vaults, then?" Gwen guessed and Jack nodded.

"I need you to find out when the next rift opening will be so we can send him through it," he ordered. "Ianto, when you're both done here get some food for John."

"He's not getting a three course meal," Ianto retorted.

"Didn't say he had to," Jack smirked. "Bread and water works for every other prisoner perfectly."

"Looks like she's stable now," Gwen reported and nodded to Ianto that he could pull her IV. "She's still going to twitch."

"That's fine," Jack nodded, stepping down the stairs. "You two get to work. I'll take her from here."

Gwen passed Jack without a word but Ianto remained where he was as Jack came up next to Olivia to gather her into his arms.

"Will you be needing assistance?" Ianto wondered and Jack only nodded before the Welshman hurried ahead up the stairs and toward Jack's office. He opened and propped the door before heading toward the hatch next to Jack's desk as he entered, then lifted his arms, offering, "I'll take her and hand her over to you down there."

"Thank you," Jack nodded, shifting Olivia into Ianto's arms before hurrying down the ladder onto his bed and Ianto carefully knelt down to pass her feet first down the hatch.

"You sure you want her to know where you sleep?" Ianto wondered as Jack settled her in the bed, shuffling to her feet to pull off her shoes.

"I've been to her place," Jack shrugged, pulling the sheet over her then looking up at Ianto with that charming smile. "Be kinda rude not invite her over to _mine_. Hand me that stack of papers on my desk and pen, won't you, Ianto?"

Ianto obeyed and passed them down the hatch, earning him a wink from the Captain before he thanked him. Ianto stood tall and headed out of the office to go about his day, Gwen already at one of the computers, predicting when the next rift opening would be. Jack sighed and sat at the foot of the bed, unflinching whenever Olivia jerked and twitched as he looked though the papers Ianto had given him.

He looked to Olivia and couldn't help but smile with pride. She would get a talking to when she woke up about disobeying him, but he felt pride at how she'd been able to keep John from escaping by changing the protocol for that particular cell. Normally you needed the access code just to get in, not out, but she'd changed it so that you needed the code to get in _and_ out. John wouldn't have been able to get out for anything unless he had her code.

She was cleverer than any of them had realized, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Doctor had seen it or not. He always picked the clever ones, but Olivia Felton took the cake, and Jack realized it was gonna be hard for him to keep his hands off this one. Gorgeous, clever and feisty, three things he couldn't resist individually, let alone all wrapped up in one woman.

Not wanting to dwell on it, he turned to his work and waited for her to wake up.

* * *

 _Evening..._

Olivia groaned as she awoke, lifting a hand to rub the sleep from her eyes before stretching. She frowned when she realized she was in a bed and tried to sit up, groaning in pain when her muscles ached in protest.

"Well, look who's up."

She shot her gaze up at the hatch above her head to see Jack grinning down at her and frowned as she looked around the small room before looking back at up at him.

"Don't tell me _this_ is where you sleep," she said.

"Alright, I won't," he replied. "Can you walk?"

"I think so," she muttered, rubbing one of her eyes again. "I'm sore all over."

"That happens when you come in contact with a paralyzing agent," he explained, making her stare up at him with wide eyes, suddenly remembering why she'd been sedated, and he noted the look in her eyes. "Get up here, Felton."

Olivia swallowed before shifting on the bed to grab the ladder and climb up, slowly. Jack stepped away from the hatch and sat in his chair behind his desk, waiting patiently as Olivia grunted and groaned while pulling herself up and out of the hatch. She struggled to stand and hobbled toward the desk before leaning on its surface and looking up at Jack as he sat back in his chair.

"Stand tall when you're being dressed down, Felton," Jack ordered.

Even though she gave him a slight glare, she figured she deserved it after disobeying him and getting herself poisoned. She pulled her feet beneath her again and willed herself to stand tall, her hands behind her back as Jack stared at her in evaluation before nodding in approval and shifting to sit up in his chair.

"Question," he began firmly, making her jade gaze meet his blue one. "Did I, or did I _not_ , tell you to stay away from Captain John Hart?"

"Jack—"

"Yes or no, Felton," he cut into her explanation. He would get to that in a moment.

Olivia swallowed before nodding, "Yes, you did."

"Next question," he continued, folding his arms in front of him. "Did I, or did I _not_ , tell you not to go _near_ him unless someone was with you?"

"Yes, you did," she nodded again.

"Last question." He slowly stood, leaning forward on his desk as he demanded, "What the hell were you doing down there, on your own after I told you _not_ to?"

"I had a question to ask him," she replied without hesitation.

"Honest, but vague, I'm assuming," Jack retorted. "What was the question?"

"I plead the fifth."

"You're not in America."

"Then I respectfully decline to answer, Captain."

"And why is that?"

"Personal reasons."

"Not good enough."

"I can't have a personal life?!"

"Not when you nearly get yourself killed!" Jack snarled. "And he _could_ have killed you, without feeling _any_ remorse over it."

"You think I'd put myself in a position to be _killed_?" Olivia snapped back.

"You just _did_ , or do you not remember being paralyzed, vulnerable and locked in the cell with him?!"

"I knew you guys would get me outta there."

"And what if we hadn't, Olivia?! What if we didn't come back in time and he—?!"

Jack cut himself off then sighed and bowed his head to stare at the surface of his desk.

"Your lunch is in the refrigerator," he reported in an emotionless tone, not looking at her and making her frown in wonder but he continued, "I'm sure you're hungry after going without lunch, and you've been sleeping for hours. Ianto and Gwen have already gone home, so here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna eat, and then stay here and finish whatever work you have to finish."

"But…that'll take hours," she replied in wide-eyed disbelief and he finally turned his burning blue gaze at her. "I have to make my report for the day, and Gwen gave me the list of recent alien tech we recovered for UNIT to get a feel for it so that I can do it next time—"

"Consider it punishment for your insubordination," Jack shot back, shoving off the desk and marching around it, their gazes still locked as he stopped in front of her. "And if you _ever_ disobey me and get yourself into a situation like that again, I'll send you to UNIT with Martha Jones. I know you've read up on it. You won't like it, no matter how comfy Martha tries to make it for you. Now I just have one more thing to say to you before you get to work."

Olivia nodded that she was listening, staring at him in wide-eyed shock before frowning in confusion when he gave a smile.

"What you did with the cell door was _brilliant_ ," he commended, leaning down to wrap his arms around her waist and lift her off her feet to hug her, making her squeak in surprise and throw her arms around his neck for support before he set her back down to grin at her. "Absolute _genius_! I knew there was a reason I wanted you here. Now, go get to work. I'll stay up with you. I've still got paperwork to work on."

"But…Jack, you don't have to," she argued, shaking her head.

"It's fine, Nova," he smiled, lifting his hands to her shoulders. "I'm punishing myself for thinking I could trust you being alone here with him."

"Yeah, you _really_ should've seen that coming," she smirked with a huge nod before grinning and he pointed a warning finger at her then turned to step around his desk and sit in his chair. She was about to leave but stopped and turned back to the desk to lean on it, catching Jack's attention and making him frown as she asked, "Is Captain John still here? I won't go down there again…I'm just…curious."

"Well, you know what they say about curiosity," he replied then frowned in thought before setting his arms on his desk and folding his hands in front of him. "Although, you might wanna get the Doctor to tell you about how that phrase came about. I think he was there."

"That wouldn't surprise me at all," she smiled, making him smirk back before she asked again, "What'd you do with John?"

"Sent him home," he replied. "Hopefully he won't be coming back. And if he does, hopefully he won't be so damn selfish, although I doubt it."

Olivia nodded then replied, "Well, I'll go get on with my punishment, then."

"You owe me an explanation as to why you were down there, Olivia," he called as she headed toward the door and she stopped in the doorway to turn a smirk at him over her shoulder.

"And _you_ owe me a story or two, Jack," she reminded him. "One being how you ended up immortal. You share your secret, I _might_ share mine."

* * *

 **A/N:** Liv is getting a little too comfrotable. lol reviews?


	7. Slime and Story Time

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6: Slime and Story Time**_

Gwen and Ianto stared at Olivia as she slumped over her desk asleep, her computer screen running a program of some kind that they didn't try to read. They were focused on the sleeping Olivia. Their gazes shot to Jack's office when he strolled into the doorway and frowned at them in wonder.

"What are you guys staring at?" he shrugged before looking to Olivia, the sight of her making him smirk and stroll toward her to set a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, rise and shine, Supernova!"

He flicked her ear, making her shout as she sat straight up in her chair, her eyes wide as she stared around. Gwen giggled as Ianto and Jack only smirked at the sight of a paper sticking to her face. Her eyes narrowed as she turned a glare toward Jack who still smirked and plucked the paper from her face to set it on her desk.

"Couldn't resist," he smirked as she looked back to her screen. Her eyes widened again as she tapped a few keys on her keyboard and the screen went dark as Jack placed his hands on her shoulders. "Go home, get some breakfast and get cleaned up and changed. You've got an hour to do all that, so shift!"

"After you made me work _all night_?!" she shot back.

"You'll be on desk duty all day, if you're too tired, ya big baby," Jack smirked, patting her shoulders. "I'll have Ianto brew up some of my Industrial Strength coffee."

"Sounds…delish," Olivia frowned, glancing to Ianto and Gwen and standing to gather her bag and head toward the stairs. "I'll be back in _less_ than an hour. I've been able to get cleaned up and changed in _five_ _minutes_ when the situation called for it."

"I'm sure the Doctor appreciated that!" Jack smirked, calling after her as she rushed toward the cog door as it opened.

"He certainly did!" she shot back without missing a beat and the three left turned to get to work.

* * *

 _Olivia's Flat..._

Olivia quickly grabbed her purse, changed and ready to head for Torchwood again. She headed toward the door and checked her watch with a yawn, grinning when she noted the time.

"Not even eight thirty yet," she smirked. "Only took me fifteen minutes. I can stop for a bite to eat on the way!"

She locked the door behind her and hurried down the stairs to the front door of the building then headed down the street toward Torchwood. She pulled out her mobile to text Jack that she was on her way back when she heard a crash come from an alleyway she nearly passed. She stopped in her tracks and stared wide, jade eyes to her left and into the alley only to see a huge dumpster.

"Hello?" she called, slowly stepping into the alley as she glanced around, putting her phone in her pocket and reaching into her purse to grip the Stun Gun, but she didn't brandish it. "Anyone here?"

She jumped and gasped, shooting her gaze to the dumpster before she passed it when it shook. She glanced up and down the alley again before pulling her Stun Gun from her purse.

"If this is a dog or a cat or something…terrestrial, I'm gonna kick myself for being so paranoid," she muttered before slowly leaning forward to peek into the dumpster. She frowned when she heard a strange clicking noise and her eyes widened when the rubbish in the dumpster moved, as if something were under it.

A strange scream sounded and Olivia screamed as well when a huge, slug-like creature launched itself at her and slapped onto her face, latching onto her with sticky skin and not letting go. She thrashed her head and used her free hand to try to pull it off, but the thing wouldn't let go and it was so slimy everywhere that her hand just slid over its skin. Feeling her lungs burning for air she took a chance and lifted the Stun Gun to it, pulling the trigger.

The thing screamed again as it seized, letting go of Olivia's face and dropping to the ground at her feet as she gasped for air then coughed. She groaned in disgust as she lifted her hand and shook the slime from it then tried to wipe it from her face as it dripped from it. She looked to the thing on the ground as it twitched and frowned in wonder, finally getting a good look at it.

The slug-like creature was green and slimy with several eyes hanging from stems all over its body, small enough to cover a human head.

"Well, this is _certainly_ non-terrestrial," she sighed, glancing in disgust at her hands still covered in slime before wiping one of them on her pants and reaching for her phone in her pocket. She dialed Jack's number and put the phone on speaker.

" _You at the restaurant already?_ " he asked, their texting conversation having been about getting breakfast for all of them.

"Sorry, Jack, you're gonna have to come get me near my place," she explained. "We'll get breakfast on the way, and you'll find out why when you get here."

" _Are you alright?_ " he hoped.

"I'm fine," she nodded. "Just…covered in slime."

" _Ooh, don't tease me_ ," he replied and she could hear his smirk over the phone before he laughed. " _Be there in a jiff, Nova_."

They both hung up and Olivia sighed, looking down at herself with a groan before looking back at the thing on the ground in front of her.

"I'm gonna need another shower," she muttered.

* * *

 _Torchwood Hub..._

"Lively, isn't he?" Jack strained, gripping the cooler he was carrying into the hub, Olivia following him as they headed toward the medical bay.

"Ever seen anything like it?" she wondered as Gwen leaned over in her chair to look at them with a frown then stood to head after them.

"Nope," he sighed, heading down the stairs and setting him on the table on the far side of the room, holding it down as best he could. "But by the time I got there I didn't get a good look at him."

"What's in the ice box?" Gwen frowned, gesturing to the box before setting her hands on her hips.

"A fast slug," Olivia blurted. "Not kidding."

"Gwen, hand me one of those sedative vials, would ya?" Jack requested, leaning one arm on the thrashing box as Gwen headed toward one of the other tables to find what he was asking for.

"What are you gonna do?" Olivia asked him as Gwen came back and handed the vial to him.

"If I pour this on it…" he struggled, using one hand to grip the edge of the cooler's lid, preparing to open it, the vial in his other hand as he continued, "…it'll either absorb it or eat it. Either way…it'll be knocked out."

"What are you covered in?" Gwen asked Olivia with another frown.

Olivia lifted a hand to her hairline and wrinkled her nose when she touched the dried, crusty slime in her hair, then flicked some from her face as Jack lifted the lid enough to empty the vial into the cooler then slam it shut again, holding it down as it thrashed, violently.

"Slug slime," she muttered through a sneer, and Gwen couldn't help but smile.

"Come on," she nodded up the stairs. "Let's get you washed up then."

Olivia smiled gratefully as she followed her up the stairs, Jack still holding onto the thrashing box. Olivia suddenly stopped in her tracks, feeling like her breath was being taken away as an image came to her mind's eye.

" _Look out! It's loose!" Jack shouted from the medical bay and the girls turned in time for the slug-like alien to throw itself toward them. It landed on Gwen's face, sending her to the floor at the top of the stairs, thrashing to get it off her._

Olivia's breath came back to her and she frowned as she glanced around, looking back at Jack as he still struggled with the cooler.

"Olivia?" Gwen called, making her turn to her with wide eyes. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" Olivia murmured, shaking her head as if to shake away her hesitation then nodded. "I mean, yeah. My mind just kinda…blanked out for a second."

"Look out! It's loose!" Jack shouted from the medical bay and the girls turned in time for the slug-like alien to throw itself toward them.

"Gwen! Look out!" Olivia shouted, shoving her against the wall, making sure she was clear as well to let the thing launch past them…and latch onto Ianto's face as he came to the top of the stairs, sending him thrashing to the floor.

"Ianto!" Gwen and Olivia shouted, running up the stairs to kneel on either side of him, trying to pull the thing off his face as he tried to breathe.

"Jack!" Olivia shouted, shooting to her feet and running to the railing to lean on it and shout, "Stun Gun! Now!"

Jack looked to her purse she'd left on the table next to the box and reached into it, quickly finding the Stun Gun and tossing it to her. She caught it over the railing and rushed toward Ianto and Gwen trying to get the thing off his face.

"Gwen! Get back!" she shouted, and Gwen jumped back before Olivia pressed the Stun Gun to the creature and pulled the trigger. The slug seized and fell off Ianto's face, making him gasp for breath and cough as he shook the slime from his face and Olivia shoved the twitching slug off of him as Jack ran up to them. She looked up at him with a slight glare, lifting a brow and stated, "So the sedative didn't knock it out."

"Yeah, yeah, don't start with me," he muttered, kneeling toward Ianto as he sat up. "Ianto, you ok?"

He coughed but nodded, and Olivia frowned when she noticed a strange smile come over Jack's lips before he looked to the slug next to them.

"Hey! That's Thomas Polong!" he grinned, making the three look to him with wide eyes.

"Who, _what_ , now?" Olivia questioned, making him look back at his team.

"Thomas Polong," he replied. "He's from Polongus. Should be easy enough to get him back home. I've done it before."

"How did we not know about this?" Gwen questioned before helping Ianto to his feet as Olivia poked Thomas Polong's side, making him twitch.

"He doesn't come around too much any more," Jack shrugged, standing and holding a hand toward Olivia to help her to her feet. "His cousin, Travis, makes plenty of trouble in Ealing though. Ianto, Olivia, go get cleaned up. Gwen, help me out with Thomas, would you?"

Ianto and Olivia headed past the desks and down the stairs, Olivia staring at her feet in thought at what had just happened. She had seen what would happen…before it happened. It was the second strange thing to have happened to her in as many days. First that dream with Captain John Hart and now this. She had no explanation, except one that was obvious, but she refused to believe it. That was impossible…wasn't it?

"First week on the job and already covered in alien slime, huh Olivia?" Ianto smiled, jolting her from her thoughts and she looked to him with wide eyes filled with surprise, making him frown back at her. "You alright?"

"Uh…yeah," she murmured before shaking her head again and grinning, "Sorry! I'm fine…apart from the alien slug slime."

"We've got some spare clothes that might fit you," he smiled. "I can wash your clothes in the washer we have in one of the vaults."

"Oh, thanks, but they're not _that_ bad," she smiled, looking down at herself and examining her clothes before holding her hands up to examine them. "My hands, hair and face could do with a good scrubbing, though."

"There's some soap in the showers that cuts through _all_ type of alien slime."

"Not surprising and _awesome_ ," Olivia grinned.

* * *

 _Two Hours Later..._

Olivia typed rapidly at her computer, her raven hair pulled into a clip after she'd washed the alien slug slime from it. She didn't look away from her computer screen as she sensed Ianto coming up next to her to set a cup of steaming coffee next to her.

"Thanks, Ianto," she replied, deftly and he couldn't help but smile as she continued working. "I'm gonna need that in a sec."

"You look like you don't," he smirked, sipping at his own cup of coffee as he looked to the screen she was staring at. "How's your work in progress coming along?"

"Coming along," she smiled, glancing up at him as she continued typing then looked back at the screen. "I'm hoping this'll help us out on locating where the things we don't know about come from."

"I'm sure it will," he nodded. "From what I've heard and seen of your file, you're not half clever."

"Thanks, Yan," she smiled, brightly, glancing at him before stopping and looking at him asking, "Can I call you Yan?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Cool," she smiled brightly again before turning back to typing. "Did they get…Thomas Polong back to…Polongus?"

"I suppose so," Ianto replied. "I didn't see him in the vaults and I haven't seen him sliding around the floor either."

"Clever, sweet, _gorgeous_ Olivia!" Jack nearly sang as he strolled from his office to lean out of his doorframe as she and Ianto looked to him with a frown each as he smirked, "I need you, baby."

Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes and she spun her chair to face Jack as he still smirked and she smiled back, "Captain, my Captain, exactly _what_ do you need me for?"

"Story time," he replied, lifting a hand to beckon her after him as he stepped back into his office.

Olivia's smile widened, excitedly before she turned to make her computer screen dark then lifted her cup of coffee to head after Jack. She took a sip of her coffee before heading through the door and she gave a moan of satisfaction before turning to Ianto and pointed to the coffee then held a thumbs up. He smirked and raised his own cup to say 'Cheers.' She turned into the office and stepped toward the desk to set her cup down in front of Jack as he sat in his chair on the other side.

"Shut the door, please?" Jack ordered and she hurried to the door to shut it before she hurried back to the chair in front of Jack to sit. "Alright…spill it, Supernova. What happened with John?"

"What?" she frowned in confusion. "I thought _you_ were gonna tell _me_ about how you became Immortal…and about Rose and the Doctor."

"You show me yours, I'll show you mine, Nova," he smirked. "And I'm your boss, so you _have_ to do what I say."

"Sexual harassment _and_ abuse of authority all in one statement," Olivia smirked back, lifting her cup again to take a sip of coffee before replying, "HR must _love_ you."

"Olivia, we've been monitoring you for some time, so we know a _bit_ about your mannerisms, which makes me kind of entitled to say that the whole thing that happened with John was _not_ like you," he replied, seriously and Olivia's smirk dropped as she lifted a hand to her cup to fiddle with the handle, her eyes on the cup as Jack's eyes remained on her. "What happened?"

She took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh before lowering her hand to her lap and shifting in her chair to look him in the eye as he waited.

"Alright," she nodded, shortly. "But this doesn't get to Gwen and Ianto and you're not allowed to ask me any questions. I'll deal with whatever this is on my own…and _don't_ treat me any differently. Like I never told you anything, got it?"

"Alright," he nodded. "I can handle those terms."

Olivia sighed again and shifted once more before replying, "I had a dream about him the night before he showed up and I thought it was _him_ getting inside my head, so I went down there to question him and it turns out it's got _nothing_ to do with him and everything to do with _me_. Like I said, I'm figuring it out, so don't try to help, don't ask me questions, and _don't_ tell Ianto or Gwen about it."

She held Jack's gaze as he stared at her, his face expressionless for a moment before he nodded, "Well, who would I be if I messed with the Supernova?"

"And now for _your_ story," she smirked, leaning forward on the desk. "How did Captain Jack Harkness become Immortal?"

"I should start with how I met the Doctor and Rose Tyler," he nodded, leaning forward on his desk as well, keeping her gaze.

"It was back in World War Two during the London Blitz and I was running the perfect, self-cleaning con with a Chula Med Ship I'd pulled in through the Time Vortex with this…" Jack showed off his wristband, lifting the cover to show off the workings inside. "The perks of working for the Time Agency in the 51st century."

"Nice toy," she nodded before he pulled his arm back to continue.

"I happened to look up at a barrage balloon one night and saw the lovely Rose Tyler hanging from the rope that should have tied the thing down. I managed to get her down, and thinking she was Time Agent, I went about negotiating with her on my prize—"

"Wait a minute," Olivia cut in, making him frown and she ordered, "Explain the con."

"Oh, right," he nodded. "Sorry. See, the way it was supposed to work was, I get a piece of space junk and sell it as something I think the Time Agency would need to the first Time Agent to cross my path. I time it perfectly so that when I sell it and get his money, a bomb falls on it, he doesn't see what he bought and I buy a drink for him with his own money commiserating over a bad coincidence."

"Wow, you were kind of a jerk, weren't you?" she smirked. "I can't believe the Agency let you get away with that."

"I'd already left the Agency then," he replied. "And I needed to make money somehow. What better way than to cheat the people that stole two years of my life?"

"Stole?" she frowned in wonder.

"They erased two years of my life," he explained. "There's a gap in my memory where I have no idea what I did."

"Oh…" she replied in a hollow voice before nodding her approval and adding, "Yeah, I'd try to cheat them too. Sorry…go on. You were selling your con to the hopefully stupid and not exceptionally beautiful Rose Tyler."

"Green's a good color on you, Nova," Jack smirked.

"Shut up and finish the story."

"Well I can't do both."

"Harkness—!"

"Ok, ok," Jack chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. "Like I said, I was selling the con and she tells me she's got a partner. The Doctor. So we go find him, find out that the Chula Ship I'd found and opened was filled with Nanogenes that were going about London 'fixing' everyone they could find and changing them into the image of this little boy they'd found and tried to fix. Nanogenes heal and repair wounds and severe injuries.

"Anyway, we saved everyone just in time, only I had to get the bomb that was about to fall on the ship out of the way because that's where _everyone_ was. I caught it in my ship's tractor beam, flew out into space, only there was no way I could get rid of it. So, there I was, sitting in my ship and waiting for this bomb to go off when I suddenly hear music…coming from the control room of the TARDIS."

"The Doctor saved you," Olivia smiled, knowingly.

"Against his will, if I recall correctly," Jack smirked. "Rose nagged him."

"Rose," Olivia muttered, her smile falling and glancing away from him with a sneer, making Jack scoff before she looked back at him. "But that doesn't tell me how you ended up Immortal."

"I'm getting there," he nodded. "So, I travel with them for a bit. Came here and Rose visited with her 'kind of' boyfriend, Mickey, then we saved the Earth from destruction from one of the Slitheen family members. I told you about that. Then we ended up on Satellite Five, a broadcasting station in the future, where the Doctor and Rose had been before, and we were all part of reality TV in the future. _Deadly_ reality TV. We soon found out it was all part of a Dalek plan for universe domination."

Olivia swallowed and he frowned in wonder when she stared wide eyes at him, terror glowing in their jade depths.

"Daleks?" she breathed and he stood from the chair as she kept her gaze on him. "You faced…Daleks?"

"Olivia? You ok?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk in front of her and leaning over to take one of her hands.

"I hate Daleks," she shuddered, staring at him and gripping his hand in both of hers. "I don't just hate them, though, Jack, I am _terrified_ of them. When they were here when the planets were in the sky…it was a nightmare for me."

"Alright," he nodded, gripping her hands reassuringly. "I won't go into detail then. We had to fight them, they shot me, and Rose brought me back to life."

"She did _what_?!" Olivia frowned, incredulously. "How the hell did she do _that_?!"

"The way the Doctor explained it is, she looked into the heart of the TARDIS, absorbed its power, and used it to destroy the Daleks and bring me back to life," he replied. "But he said she couldn't control it and she brought me back forever. He said he absorbed the power from her after that and that made him regenerate."

"Wait, so…he didn't look like he does now when you met him?" Olivia frowned in wonder.

"Nope," Jack chirped, shaking his head. "And, trust me, you don't wanna know what he looked like. You wouldn't like it."

"Oh, whatever," she grumbled before cautiously asking, "What about Rose?"

"She traveled with him a while after that," Jack nodded. "The next time I saw him he said she ended up in a parallel world, safe and sound."

"That wasn't what I meant," she blurted, making him frown.

"Oh…then…what about Rose?"

"Is she stupid and not exceptionally beautiful?"

Jack laughed, heartily, patting her hand in his but when he looked back at her he frowned when she only stared at him expectantly.

"I'm serious, Harkness."

* * *

 **A/N:** aw, Olivia's so jealous! reviews?


	8. False Images

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7: False Images**_

"Here ya go, Olivia," Gwen smiled, handing her some money as Olivia sat at her desk. "My share for lunch. You're sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Yeah, Gwen, I'll be fine," Olivia smiled, taking the money and standing to stuff it into her pocket before grabbing her purse and slinging it onto her shoulder. "Gotta learn this place and how to use the money on my own if I'm ever gonna get it, ya know?"

Gwen nodded but Olivia frowned and looked around the room as Gwen sat at her desk before Olivia looked back at her to ask, "Where's Jack?"

"Don't know," Gwen frowned in wonder as she turned in her chair to look around the room as well.

"Ianto's gone missing, too," Olivia noticed, but she didn't notice the smirk Gwen gave as she turned back to her computer. "I'm gonna go find them."

"I wouldn't go searchin' for 'em if they've _both_ disappeared," Gwen warned.

"Well, I don't have the money for them to mooch lunch off me," Olivia retorted with a smile as she looked into Jack's office, but found it empty and headed for the stairs. "Besides, what could the two of them possibly be doing together? After the things I've seen, _nothing_ would surprise me."

"Oh, I doubt that," Gwen smirked, typing at her keyboard as Olivia reached the floor level and frowned up at her but kept walking.

Olivia hurried up the set of stairs on the other side of the water tower, heading up to a balcony that led to the green room. As she headed toward the door she saw a shadow pass by the window through the leaves against the wall and guessed one of them must be in there. She marched down the balcony to the door but frowned when she found it closed. Even though she hadn't been there long, she knew this door was always open. Shrugging it off she shoved through the door and leaned forward to peek inside, her frown deepening when she heard strange noises and her eyes widened when she saw the table at the far end jostling almost wildly, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Hello?" she called, not knowing what else to say and the table instantly stopped and her eyes widened impossibly when two heads popped up from behind it with tousled hair and wide eyes each…a red beret on one of their heads.

"Uh…" she blurted, no one moving as her eyes darted between the two. "I, uh…need your shares for lunch."

"Oh," Jack chirped, smirking as he stood to lean on the table in front of him and Olivia was so glad it was high enough to reach his waist because she could tell he and Ianto were most decidedly naked. "Why didn't you say so? The way you were looking at us I thought something terrible was happening out there. It's on my desk. My share _and_ Ianto's. Close the door on your way out, won't you?"

Olivia frowned again as Jack turned back to a still surprised Ianto (the one in the beret) and nearly pounced onto him, making him yell in surprise before they disappeared behind the table. She quickly stepped back and shut the door, nearly slamming it shut and tried to shake the image from her head.

She couldn't think for a moment before she remembered what he'd said and turned to head back to the stairs, hurrying down them then back across the hub to head toward Jack's office. Gwen sat at her desk and looked to Olivia as she approached, unable to help the smirk that came over her lips as she turned back to her computer.

"You're blushin'," Gwen teased, but Olivia said nothing as she quickly found the money for Jack and Ianto's lunch then turned to march back toward the cog door. "Ianto looks good in a beret, doesn't he?"

"Shut up," Olivia muttered, marching past her and Gwen burst into laughter as she headed down the stairs and out the cog door. She stopped just outside the door as it shut, Gwen's laughter fading as it did, and pulled out her phone to send a text to Aaron.

 _I have good news and bad news_ , she typed. _Which do u want 1st?_

She held her phone in her hand as she headed into the lift and hit the button to take her up to the shop. Her phone buzzed twice and she looked to it just as the doors opened and she read the message from Aaron as she walked out.

 _Ruin my dinner_ , he'd said, and she knew he meant good news first.

She typed as she shoved the door to the shop open to head down the bay and toward the city.

 _The good news is, Jack's in2 guys 2…like u said_

 _The bad news cant be_ _that_ _bad then. Lay it on me_

 _He's got a bf_

 _SHUT UP! SERIOUS?! There go my chances :'(_

 _Sorry, sweetie I send u a hug thru text_

 _As u grin behind my back_

Olivia laughed, doing exactly that until her smile dropped when she read his next text.

 _How did you find out he has a bf?_

She cleared her throat and straightened, blushing at the thought and decided not to respond. She knew she'd regret it when he finally broke her down and told him. She'd never hear the end of it, but for right now, she'd let him hang.

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

"It's gettin' away, Olivia!" Jack shouted as he rounded the corner of an alley at a full run, Olivia rounding it behind him, also at a full run. "Pick up the pace!"

"If I pick up the pace I'll blow out an organ!" she shot back as they still ran after the Weevil ahead of them. She noticed the thing head around another corner of a building and shouted, "Keep after it! I'll cut it off!"

Neither one of them stopped or faltered in their pace as Olivia rounded the building and skidded to a stop at the end of the alley the Weevil was heading through. Jack stopped at the other end, making the Weevil stop and look between both of them as they slowly closed in on him.

"Easy, buddy," Olivia murmured, her hands up halfway in front of her as it stared at her and bared its teeth. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I have no reason to, do I? You know that, don't you?"

The Weevil hunched down and raised its head to her as Jack came slowly up behind it. He reached for something in his pocket but Olivia shook her head, stilling his hand as she looked back at the Weevil now at her feet when she stopped. She slowly squatted to its level and mimicked its head movements, but remained quiet, staring into its eyes. She still said nothing as she held out her hand and the Weevil leaned its head toward her palm so that she felt its breath on it before it looked back at her and she smiled.

"There, now," she murmured, still smiling. "You'll come with us, right? Not gonna hurt you."

She slowly stood, and it followed, and when she lifted a hand to take its arm, Jack was about to stop her, but the Weevil allowed her to lead him back down the alley toward the SUV not parked far from where they'd been running. Jack came up on the other side of Olivia as they headed down the street and both kept a look out for anyone that might be around before they got the Weevil out of sight.

"You have no idea how relieved I am now, Olivia Felton," he smiled, making her frown up at him in question and he replied, "We've got ourselves a Weevil Whisperer now. This'll make things a hell of a lot easier."

"Do I get paid extra?" she smirked.

"Not a chance," he replied with a wag of his head.

"Figures," she sneered. "I _should_ get extra after the trauma of walking in on you and Ianto today. By the way, how can you be such a lecherous _flirt_ with women and yet you're with Ianto?"

"I don't discriminate," Jack shrugged.

"Oh, so he's the Flavor of the Week?" she retorted disapprovingly.

"No," he nearly snapped, making them both stop as he glared at her and she stared back at him with wide eyes as he continued, "And I don't ever wanna hear you say that about him again, got it? That's an order."

"Ok," she nodded before they continued walking. "So, he's your boyfriend?"

"Well…I guess you could say that," Jack replied, calming himself. "I don't like to say we're a…couple."

"Why not?" she frowned to him.

"I don't like that word," he muttered.

"Ok, so you're not a couple, you're not a fling so…what? You guys are lovers without commitments?"

"It's complicated, Nova," Jack sighed, turning a charming smile to her. "Don't try to figure it out. As smart as you are, it'll just clutter up your brain."

"The only thing cluttering my brain right now is the image of Ianto wearing a red beret," Olivia shot back, making Jack laugh, heartily.

"He looks adorable in it, doesn't he?" Jack smirked as they reached the SUV and Jack opened up the back.

"Things are gonna be awkward between us now, aren't they?" Olivia guessed, raising a hand toward the back of the SUV to entreat the Weevil inside and it climbed in without argument.

"Why would they be awkward?" Jack frowned, shutting the back of the SUV and they made their way to the front where they climbed in, Jack driving and Olivia in the passenger seat. "You and I are talking about it now and it's not awkward."

"I mean between me and Ianto," Olivia explained as Jack started the engine and they headed back to Torchwood. "When I came back from getting lunch and we ate in the conference room he didn't look at me once, _or_ say a word to me except thank you for his food. I think he's embarrassed."

"I don't know why," Jack admitted. "Gwen walked in on us one time and he was fine. Of course, _she_ turned and headed right back out of the room and didn't ask for our money."

"Hey, when the next check comes in, mooch off me all you want, but until then, you're paying for your own meals," Olivia shot back with a smirk then sighed when she thought of Ianto. "Maybe he didn't think I'd find out about you guys?"

"It's not like it was a big secret," Jack corrected. "But I'll talk to him."

"No…" Olivia murmured, making Jack frown at her in wonder before looking back to the road as she looked out of her window. " _I'll_ talk to him."

* * *

 _Evening..._

Ianto gathered up the coffee cups from the desks near Jack's office to put them away. Gwen had already left and Jack was finishing up some paperwork for UNIT in his office, but he hadn't seen Olivia leave, and guessed she was either still there or she'd left without him noticing. He made his way to the kitchen and was about to start cleaning up when he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Olivia marching toward him.

"Olivia—?"

"Did I embarrass you with what happened today?" she instantly asked, stopping a foot from him and crossing her arms in front of her. "Because I didn't mean to embarrass you, and Jack seems to think everything's fine but you haven't spoken to me since then and I don't want things to get weird between us."

Ianto couldn't help but smile as she stepped toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders, making her frown up at him in wonder.

"It's nothing to do with you, I promise," he smiled. "I haven't really talked to anyone all day today. I bumped my head so hard on the table when we were up there that I've had a headache. I was trying to get rid of it."

"Oh…" she breathed with wide eyes, then asked, "Does it still hurt?"

"I'm fine now," he smiled, lowering his hands from her shoulders. "It was nice of you to worry about me. Thank you."

"I'm sorry I walked in on your guys," she murmured, lowering her arms to her sides and her gaze to the floor.

"I heard you blushed," Ianto smirked, making her shoot a wide-eyed stare of embarrassment at him. "Like you're doin' now."

"You guys are all the same, aren't you?!" she snapped, and Ianto laughed as she turned to march out of the kitchen.

"You can borrow the beret if ya like when the Doctor comes back," Ianto called after her, watching her march away and he noticed her steps falter before she continued toward her desk.

"Shut up, Ianto!" she snapped, but she couldn't help the images that flashed through her mind's eye and made her face even more red.

* * *

 _All she could see was darkness, but she could hear the voices she always heard…Jack, Ianto, Gwen and…was that the Doctor? She couldn't tell, and he wasn't calling to her. It sounded like they were all talking to each other, laughing and chatting._

" _Doctor?" she called in uncertainty. "Doctor, is that you?! Theta!"_

 _A face revealed itself and she couldn't believe her eyes. The Doctor's face was staring at her, smiling at her but there was something different. Something strange about his eyes. Then she realized it, they were green, not brown._

" _Theta, what happened to your eyes?" she wondered, breathlessly._

" _I'll see you soon, Olivia Felton."_

"Theta, wait—!" she called, her eyes shooting open as she lay in her bed, her hand reaching up for the ceiling she now stared at. She sighed and lowered her hand to her face, rubbing it before resting it at her side then looked to her clock.

3:00 am

" _More bad dreams, Liv?_ " her Doctor guessed, appearing lying next to her and she looked at him as he lay on his side, staring at her.

"More like a confusing dream," she murmured, shifting in her bed to face him. "It was about you. At least…I _think_ it was you. It definitely _looked_ like you but your eyes were green."

" _That_ _is_ _strange_ ," he replied with a frown. " _You think I'm coming to visit, then?_ "

"I hope so," she sighed, feeling tears come to her eyes. "I really miss you."

" _I know, Liv_ ," he smiled, sadly. " _I miss you, too._ "

Then she did something she'd never even tried before. She lifted her hand, slowly toward him and tried to press her hand to his chest, but it went right through him and he disappeared. Her heart sank as she shifted in her bed to face the other way, tears streaming from her eyes as her heart broke, and that wasn't the first time it had.

* * *

 _Somewhere in Space..._

The Doctor growled in frustration as he kicked the console of the TARDIS, running a hand through his wild brown hair before shoving both hands into the pockets of his blue trousers. He sighed and strolled toward the jump seat to flop into it, leaning his head back to stare at the high ceiling. Looks like he was stuck on this planet for a bit before heading for Mars. A thought crossed his mind as he calculated the power drain caused by the last adventure he'd been on and he lifted his head, sitting forward to lean his elbows on his knees, staring at the console.

"Enable voice interface," he ordered, and a bluish holographic image of himself came up in front of him. "Change the image. And don't go scanning through everyone. You know _exactly_ who I wanna see."

The image instantly changed to an eighteen year old Olivia Felton as he'd first met her: ready to go to her prom. He smiled, sadly and stood to stroll toward her, shoving his hands into his pockets again.

"Try making it in color, if you can manage it," he requested, and the image slowly faded into true color. Her hair raven black, her dress purple and her eyes jade green. "Thanks, darling. Long time no see, Liv."

" _I am not Olivia Felton_ ," the image of her replied with a static sounding lilt to her voice. " _I am a voice interface_."

"Yes, well, can you _pretend_ you're Olivia for just a moment?" he retorted, but he knew it would do no good.

" _I cannot_ ," the image replied. " _I am only useful as a voice interface. Is there a problem, Doctor?_ "

"No," he sighed. "Well…not as such. _Well_ …only if you're me. My problem is I miss you, Liv."

" _I am not Olivia Felton. I am a voice interface_."

"Right," he nodded, shortly before sighing and heading to the console. "This was a bad idea."

He was just about to press the button to disable the interface when he was stopped by the interface's voice again.

"I miss you too, you idiot," she said, the static lilt gone, making it sound exactly like her. He turned wide eyes at her, but the image hadn't moved and he couldn't help but smile before flipping a switch and the image shut off. He stroked the edge of the console and looked up at the cylinder in front of him, smiling sadly again.

"Thanks dear," he murmured.

* * *

 _Cardiff, Torchwood Three..._

"A new guy?" Olivia frowned at Jack as she sat turned around in her chair, Jack standing in his doorway with Gwen and Ianto facing him at Gwen's desk. "Already? What, am I not doin' my job?"

"We need a bit more _technical_ expertise," Jack smirked and winked to her, making her dramatically fan herself and he chuckled. "If only Martha would take my job offer then we'd have everything we need."

"So who is he?" Gwen wondered, smiling at Olivia in amusement as Ianto gave a small chuckle.

"William Zimmerman," Jack replied, leaning sideways on the doorframe and tucking his hands into his trouser pockets. "He's Scottish, coming in from Torchwood Two…that's in Scotland, Olivia."

"Have you ever met him before?" Ianto wondered. "I never heard of him."

"Not even a diligent records keeper like yourself can know everyone and every _thing_ , Ianto Jones," Jack smirked.

"And when will the Scot grace us with his presence?" Olivia wondered, putting on a Scottish accent and swiveling from side to side in her chair as Jack pulled a pocket watch from his dark blue vest pocket to look at the time.

"He should be here any minute," he replied. "He'll be coming in through the Invisible Lift. He's got some equipment that's pretty hefty."

As if on cue, the Invisible Lift began lowering and the group looked to it before heading down the stairs to hurry toward the lift but Olivia stopped on the middle step as a chill went down her spine and she had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, but she didn't know how.

"Ah, Doctor Zimmerman!" Jack grinned up at the lift as it still lowered and Olivia resumed her rush down the stairs and toward the rest of the team to stare up at the lift as well. "Right on time!"

Olivia skipped up next to Jack but her eyes widened, as did everyone else's, when the lift stopped and they got a look at Doctor William Zimmerman.

"Hello!" he grinned that grin Olivia knew too well, but it held a Scottish accent instead of a British one, waving to them as he glanced between the group, equipment surrounding him on the lift. "Sorry I'm late. Had to lug this lot with me. You must be Captain Harkness! Brilliant to meet ya!"

Jack somehow shook himself out of his trance and smiled, charmingly before holding a hand toward him to shake his as William stepped down off the block to stand in front of him and nodded, "And it's nice to meet you…Doctor."

"Doctor…" Olivia breathed, but she hadn't realized she'd spoken her thoughts and drew William's attention to her, making her own eyes widen when he did. "S-Sorry. My name's…Olivia Felton. Nice to meet you."

"Lovely to meet you, lass," he grinned as he held his hand toward her and she looked to it before hesitantly reaching for it and shaking it, feeling her heart skip when he gripped her hand. He frowned at her when she looked back up at him, wondering, "You alright, lass? You look a bit pale. Whoa!"

He stepped forward and caught her just as her legs gave way, falling limp in his arms as she passed out and he looked to Jack in a panicked stare.

"Olivia—!"

"I've got her, Ianto," Jack assured him when he was about to kneel toward her, along with Gwen. The two looked to him as he knelt down and scooped her up into his arms to turn and carry her toward the medical bay. "Gwen, Ianto, help William get his stuff set up. I'll take care of Olivia."

Gwen and Ianto went to follow Jack's orders as he carried the still unconscious Olivia in his arms, heading down the stairs into the medical bay and carefully laying her down in the chair in the center. As soon as she was settled, she groaned and stirred, lifting her head and her eyes fluttered open with a frown. She instantly looked to Jack as he leaned over her, one hand on the shoulder of the chair and he met her wide-eyed gaze of disbelief.

"Jack," she breathed, and he knew what she was going to say next. "Jack he looks like…"

"I know," he nodded when she trailed off, not looking away from her. "I'd never seen him before, and I talked to him over the phone, never in person."

"But it _can't_ be," she breathed. "I thought it was, but he _can't_ be the Doctor! We didn't hear the TARDIS, he's not wearing the clothes he usually does, and he doesn't have a _Scottish_ accent! He wouldn't trick us like this. Not if he knew what was good for him, and he _knows_ I'd kill him if he tried something like this."

"Yeah," Jack nodded again, looking away from her in thought before he looked back at her and recalled, "There's an old wives tale that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. Maybe this is the Doctor's?"

"Jack, that only applies to humans," she shot back. "Besides, the Doctor has a twin that looks like one of his regenerations? Highly unlikely, even in _our_ line of work. Nearly frickin' impossible!"

"You've got a point, there."

"So what do we do?"

Jack looked ahead again in thought for a moment, Olivia staring at him expectantly before he looked back at her, shifting on his feet.

"We'll watch him," Jack told her. "His paperwork for Torchwood is all in order, but Ianto's never heard of him and he was back at Torchwood One at Canary Worfe before he came here. They'd have records of _everyone_ , so he's got a point, too. I'll do my research on him, but you, Gwen and Ianto keep eyes and ears on him. He doesn't go _anywhere_ in the Hub unless one of you is with him. Chalk it up to a training thing if he says anything."

"Let _me_ do the research, Jack, please," Olivia begged, and he met the desperation in her jade eyes. "I can't keep tabs on him. He…looks too much like him. I can't do it."

"The research I'll be doing needs higher-up clearance, and _you_ don't have that," he explained before shifting his feet and gently cupping her face to lock his gaze with hers. "You _can_ do this. You _know_ he's not the Doctor, and _I_ know that this is gonna be hard for you, but you _can_ do it. It's hard for me to look at him, too, but we both know it's not him."

Olivia swallowed and tried to blink away the tears forming in her eyes before she reluctantly nodded and Jack gave a sympathetic smile before pulling her face close to kiss her forehead.

"You wanna go home for the day?" he asked, pulling away to look into her eyes again. "I'll call you if I need you, but it should be quiet today."

"No," Olivia shuddered as she shook her head. "I just…need a minute or two."

"Alright," he nodded, lowering his hands to her shoulders to give them a reassuring squeeze. "I'll tell Ianto and Gwen what we'll be doing. You take all the time you need before you come back up. Oh, and…I'm sorry but his desk is next to yours."

"Thanks for the warning," she nodded sincerely before waving him closer, making him frown but he leaned over her again. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close and he hugged her in return using only one arm, the other supporting his weight on the arm of the chair as she whispered, "I miss him so much, Jack."

"I know," he murmured, breathlessly at the thought of the Doctor. "So do I."

* * *

 **A/N:** I couldn't resist giving the Doctor a cameo! and then torturing poor Liv with a Doctor look-alike. who is Doctor William Zimmerman? *dramatic music* reviews?


	9. Sting Operation

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8: Sting Operation**_

Olivia focused on her computer screen, typing rapidly as she grinned at the screen. She was on a roll with this program she was developing for the team, and quite pleased with it so far. She barely noticed Ianto place a cup of coffee on her desk, or Jack and Gwen passing around her. However, there was one person that no matter how deep she was into her work, she couldn't ignore.

"Hello, Olivia!"

She jumped with a start, holding back a scream as she shot her wide-eyed gaze to William when he leaned sideways with one hand on her desk, grinning that grin. Her heart skipped in that familiar way it did whenever she saw that grin, but she reminded herself that it wasn't the man he looked like, making her swallow as she stared at him.

"Sorry, lass," he grinned, his brown eyes shifting from her to her computer before his gaze settled on her again. "Didn't mean to give you a fright."

"N-No…it's fine," she sputtered before looking away from her when her heart clenched tightly to continue her work. "Did you need something, William?"

"Not _really_ ," he replied, then amended, "Well…I mean, I just wanted to ask…have I done something wrong?"

"No…" she replied, deftly as she didn't look away from her work. "Why?"

"Because you've been avoiding me like the plague," he scoffed, making her shoot her jade gaze at him again. "Did I do something to upset you?"

Olivia sighed, sharply and darkened the screen of her computer before turning to him fully and he stood tall to look at her in wonder.

"I'm sorry, William," she sighed, keeping her gaze on her hands as she pulled at her fingers, nervously. "You look… _very_ much like someone I know."

"Oh, aye?" William frowned, before nervously lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "An ex boyfriend?"

"No," she replied as honestly as she could, but she was _not_ about to tell whoever this man was anything else about the Doctor. "It's complicated and I don't like talking about it. It's not really your fault. I'm sorry."

William nodded in understanding as she glanced up at him but she turned back to her computer to start working again. She stopped when she noticed him lean on her desk again and she glanced at him before looking to the surface of her desk.

"Look, I've been having, what I like to call 'sit downs' with the team," he explained. "I did it with my last team, too. Helps everyone bond a bit better when we're one on one, ya know?"

"Sure," she nodded, still not looking at him.

"The only one I haven't had one with here is you," he smiled, warmly and she glanced up at him but swallowed and felt her stomach turn when she met that smile and looked away again. "Look, if I'm gonna be here for a bit, you're gonna have to get used to my face anyway. How about you an' me hang back tonight and do some cataloging. I need to make sure I have all my things in order. Could use an extra hand."

Olivia swallowed again in thought and had to admit that he had a point. If she and Jack were wrong about him being trouble, she knew he'd be there for who knew how long. She took in a breath for bravery and looked up to meet his gaze, trying to ignore her stomach turning again as he smiled at her attempt to try.

"A-Alright," she nodded with a small smile. "I'll ask Ianto if we can order some pizza."

"Brilliant," William grinned, and Olivia's smile fell as her heart skipped, but he kept up his grin as he shoved off her desk. "You'll let Jack know, then, aye?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder Olivia's breath hitched as she felt a sharp invasion of her mind. She was _sure_ it was a telepathic invasion, just before William lifted his hand and frowned at her in concern.

"Olivia?" he called, hesitantly, making her meet his gaze as the invasion disappeared just as quickly as she had felt it. "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah," she sputtered, before smiling and standing from her desk. "I'll just tell Jack that I'll be locking up tonight. Excuse me."

William frowned at her back as she marched straight toward Jack's office. The Captain looked up at her from behind his desk, frowning at the look on her face as she shut the door behind her.

"Everything ok, Olivia?" he hoped as she stepped up to his desk and leaned forward on it with both hands.

"Have you found anything on this faker yet?" she wondered, making his frown deepen at her.

"I've just been going over his file," he replied. "Everything seems to be in order with it. I was gonna dig a bit deeper, though."

"He said something about having personal sit downs with you and the rest of the team," she explained, unmoving from her spot, her gaze unwavering from Jack's. "Did he touch you at all when you were with him?"

"Olivia _Felton_ , I'm surprised you would ask a gentleman to kiss and tell," he smirked, leaning forward on his desk with his arms.

"Harkness, you're not a gentleman, and I'm not amused," she shot back. "I'm not talking about an _intimate_ touch, I'm talking about a pat on the arm or a handshake, anything like that."

Jack frowned slightly before lifting his entwined hands to lean his mouth against his fingers in thought before lowering them again and replying, "I think he did actually. He patted my arm. I didn't think anything of it, but…now that you mention it, it felt a little weird."

"Like your mind was invaded?" Olivia guessed, making him meet her gaze again.

"Exactly," he replied, standing and mirroring her stance on his side of the desk, their gazes locked. "He touched you?"

"He put a hand on my shoulder."

"What did it feel like?"

"Like the Carnak-ay-a. It was only for a moment, but it was _very_ similar."

"And you haven't had your sit down with him?"

"He wants to do it tonight. Said he needs some help cataloging his stuff."

"Go ahead," Jack nodded, making Olivia's eyes widened at him in disbelief, but Jack continued, "I need you to get as much as you can out of him. Keep your com in your ear and I'll be in my room the entire time. Like a sting operation. If anything goes wrong, I'll be there."

"Jack, I don't want to," she argued, making him give a silent sigh and stand to step around his desk toward her as she faced him when he stopped in front of her. "I _won't_ do it. Not with someone who's already been in my head with _out_ my permission. I'm not gonna pretend to be his buddy. _You_ do it."

"Olivia, it'll be fine," Jack assured her, lifting his hands to her shoulders and squeezing them gently as he looked her in the eye. "I know this is hard for you. Believe me, that sit down was hard for me to, but you're not alone in this. I'll be right down there in case he tries anything. You'll be fine."

"Famous last words," Olivia muttered before lifting her hands and shoving his hands from her shoulders, arguing, "I'm not doing it."

"Don't make me do it, Olivia."

"Make you do _what_?"

"Pull rank."

Her eyes widened in disbelief as he only stared down at her in all seriousness.

"I'll do it, Olivia," he warned again. "Don't make me."

Olivia swallowed again and nodded, looking away in thought before meeting his gaze again and nodding, "Fine. But only if I get to Stun Gun the guy at least once. If he's got some sort of thing generating an image around himself, he's gonna pay with _pain_ that he chose to hide behind the Doctor's face."

"Well, Olivia, that's pretty cruel of you," he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and keeping his gaze locked with hers for a moment as he smirked, adding, "Cruel…but reasonable." He turned to head around his desk again as he spoke. "You've got a good point about that image generator. He _might_ be using a Perception Filter or a Shimmer. See if you can find anything on him that looks like alien tech. Might be hooked to his belt or a wristwatch. The Shimmer will be a wristwatch."

"Ok, hang on a sec," she frowned in confusion as she turned to look at Jack as he shuffled papers over his desk. "What's a Shimmer?"

"Cloaking device, of a sort," Jack explained. "It can change his appearance. Perception Filters can do that too, but a Shimmer is easier to hide. Make sure your com is on."

"What's the code word?" Olivia wondered, making him stop and frown up at her.

"Code word?" he echoed.

"Yeah," she frowned, leaning a hand on the desk. "In case anything goes wrong."

"Um…how about 'Jack, get your ass up here, something's gone wrong'?"

"That's a _phrase_ ," Olivia smirked.

"Well if you're gonna nit-pick, I'm not gonna help," Jack shot back with a smirk of his own.

* * *

 _Afternoon..._

"This is the top floor of the vaults," Gwen explained to William, leading him as she gave him a tour of Torchwood. Jack had paperwork, Olivia had refused and Ianto was out getting them a late lunch after helping William with his equipment. "This is where we keep most of the prisoners, and the Weevils."

"Weevils?" William frowned, but when they stopped in front of one of the cells he jumped a step back with a shout when something flung itself against the Plexiglas. He stared wide eyes at the snarling Weevil, making Gwen frown at it before looking to him. "Is that…?"

"Yeah," she nodded, watching the Weevil go significantly more crazy than usual when met with strangers. "That's a Weevil."

"What the hell's it doin'?" he wondered breathlessly, frowning at the Weevil as it still threw itself against the glass.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Gwen admitted, glancing between William and the Weevil before holding a hand toward the door with a smile. "Well, that's the tour! Why don't we head back up? I'm sure Ianto will be back with that Chinese."

"A-Aye…" he nodded, still staring at the Weevil before heading toward the door and Gwen watched the Weevil in the cell finally calm down, but it gave a howl of what sounded like despair.

The two headed toward their desks and Gwen glanced to Jack's office, then to Olivia, who still worked on her computer, before looking to her own computer to bring up a particular recording from the CCTV in the vaults. The cog door sounded and she looked toward it to see Ianto stepping through the threshold, carrying a bulging plastic bag in each hand.

"Lunch!" he called, instantly heading toward the conference room and Gwen waited until William headed from his desk to the stairs to follow Ianto before she stepped toward Jack's office to lean into the door.

"Jack—"

"I know," he replied, not looking up from his desk. "I heard Ianto."

"It's not that," she explained, making Jack look to her with a frown. "I've got something you should see."

Jack instantly stood from his desk and she turned to head back to her desk as Jack followed her, tapping Olivia's shoulder as he did. She looked to him as he waved her in his direction, making her frown but she met them around Gwen's desk.

"What's wrong?" she wondered, leaning next to Gwen as Jack stood on the other side of her, folding his arms over his broad chest as they all stared at the screen.

"I just came back from the vaults with William," she explained, bringing up the CCTV. "I've never seen a Weevil do this before, with _anyone_."

The two stared hard at the screen before jumping when they watched the Weevil slam itself against the glass of its cell.

"Ok, that's weird," Jack nodded with a frown, still watching the screen.

"It's William," Olivia guessed, glancing between the two as Gwen looked to her but Jack still examined the screen. "It's gotta be. I _knew_ there was something weird about him the _moment_ he showed up!"

"You mean _after_ you thought he was the Doctor?" Jack shot back with a smirk, glancing to her before looking back at the screen.

"Nobody can look like the Doctor," she insisted. "Not _exactly_ like him, and not _exactly_ like one of his regenerations! The only way that could happen is if he's a Time Lord. The probability of two Time Lord's looking exactly the same at some point is just as likely as a human having a twin somewhere on Earth. But he's _not_ a Time Lord. He's _trouble_."

"We don't know anything yet," Jack argued. "All we have is a freak incident from a Weevil and two weird feelings, which is really nothing to go on."

"The Weevils are subtly telepathic, Jack!" Olivia reminded him, stepping around behind Gwen to argue with him as he turned to face her. "Our weird feelings when he touched us are connected to whatever that Weevil felt!"

"We can't _prove_ anything, Olivia," Jack explained. "Three telepathic incidents are nothing. We need something _physical_."

"We've got the physical proof, Jack," Gwen reminded him, drawing their attention to her as she turned her chair to jab a thumb behind her at the recording still playing on her computer. "Weevil's don't go mad like that. We've got recordings of them since we found the first one and _none_ of them have ever done _that_."

"There's the proof!" Olivia insisted, looking back to him. "There's something _wrong_ , Jack."

"I know, but what is it you want me to _do_ , Nova?" he questioned. "I can't just lock him in a cell because he looks like the Doctor."

"Maybe there's something in his file," she tried. "Did you finish looking it over?"

"Very nearly. But everything's legit. No trouble with the law, no troubles with Torchwood Two since he showed up a few years ago…not even a _parking_ ticket on his record."

"Sounds too good to be true," Gwen observed, lifting her brows at Jack when he looked down at her and he nodded in agreement as Olivia lifted a hand to her chin to rub it in thought. "In my experience if something's too good to be true, it's usually a load of bollocks."

"Can we access his personal records from here?" Olivia wondered to her and she nodded, turning to her computer to type at it as Olivia leaned next to her again, staring at the screen. "He couldn't have kept a clean nose his _whole_ life. There's gotta be _something_. School incidents, maybe something was expunged from his record after he joined Torchwood?"

"All of that would've been in his file," Jack explained.

"Not if he didn't _want_ it there," Olivia argued. "He's a techy. He would've had a way to delete it from his file and maybe even the public record. The only thing is, if you dig deep enough, you can find _anything_ on the internet…if you know where to look."

"Alright, I admit, all of this is pretty fishy, but can we mess with this after we eat?" Jack hoped. "I'm starved."

"I'm _not_ having a sit down with him, Jack," Olivia replied. "If we can just—?"

"Then you look it up on your own," Jack cut in, taking Gwen's hand to pull her from her seat in the middle of her typing and dragged her to the stairs. "We're eating."

Olivia stared at Jack as Gwen shrugged to her, helplessly. She sighed and bowed her head before darkening the screen on Gwen's computer then hurried after them to get her lunch. She was hoping they could find something on William before the dreaded sit down she was supposed to have with him that evening, but she guessed she'd just have to see what they could gather on him later. She had to admit, she was a bit hungry herself.

* * *

 _Evening..._

"Gwen!" Olivia whispered, seeing the Welshwoman getting ready to leave and hurriedly approached her, glancing around the Hub before stepping close to Gwen who stared wide eyes at her in wonder. "You find anything on William?"

"Actually, I didn't," Gwen replied, making Olivia frown at her with wide eyes.

" _Nothing_?" Olivia asked again. "No priors or _anything_?"

"Nothing before he came to Torchwood," Gwen replied, making Olivia's eyes widen as Gwen nodded, seeing she had understood what she was saying.

"That so?" Olivia nodded. "Did you tell Jack?"

"I was about to before I left just now."

"Head home to your husband…what was his name?"

"Rhys."

"Right," Olivia nodded with a smile, patting Gwen's arm. "Go home to Rhys, and I'll give the news to Jack. Can't keep hubby waiting."

"You're sure you're alright, Olivia?" Gwen hoped and Olivia's smile widened as she nodded again.

"I'll be fine. Thanks Gwen. If you hurry you can make dinner with Rhys."

Gwen smiled adorably before hugging Olivia goodbye until tomorrow and heading for the cog door. Olivia watched her leave before turning to head into Jack's office where he was handing Ianto some file folders.

"You can _finally_ send these to UNIT and make sure to tell them to read all my notes, even though I know they won't," Jack told Ianto who nodded as he took the folders with both hands, greeting Olivia with a smile and she gave him a returning nod before leaning forward on Jack's desk in front of him. "Hello, Olivia. Come to include yourself in a game of naked hide and seek with me and Ianto?"

"Fair warning: he cheats… _always_ ," Ianto told her as she smirked at them.

"Gwen didn't find anything on William _before_ he worked for Torchwood," Olivia explained, making Jack lean back in thought as Ianto gave a small frown before realizing what she meant and he looked to her with wide eyes. "You had a point, Ianto. His files are all in order because _he_ made it in order. I'll bet you he's not even _human_."

"Well, I hope you're ready for your sting operation," Jack said, leaning forward to lift his com from the desk, looking from it to Olivia's smirk.

"Armed with all this info? I'm _more_ than ready," she smirked, making Jack return her smirk.

"Ianto, help the lady with her com, won't you?" he smiled to the young man, stroking a hand down his forearm and fingering the sleeve of his jacket. "We'll play another night."

"Yes, Captain," he smirked back to Jack before heading toward the door and Olivia smiled at the two.

"Aw! You guys are so cute!" she teased through a grin, making Ianto smile as he passed her and Jack gave her a wink before she turned to head after Ianto. "So what help do I need with my com?"

"I'm assuming you'll need help in concealing it so William doesn't notice," he guessed, setting the files down on her desk before lifting her com to hand it to her.

She took it without a word and placed it in her ear as Ianto stepped closer to help her arrange her hair for her so that he couldn't see it.

"Nervous?" he asked and she took in a breath before shaking her head, but he gave her a raised brow in skepticism and she switched from shaking her head to nodding, slowly.

"He looks like the Doctor," she murmured as he made one last adjustment before nodding in satisfaction then placing a hand on her shoulder in assurance, meeting her gaze with a smile.

"You'll be fine," he smiled. "I've seen you in action. You can handle this."

Olivia smiled, feeling a little less nervous before giving a nod, murmuring, "Thanks, Ianto."

" _Captain Eye Candy to Supernova_ ," she heard through the com. " _Come in, Supernova_."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to her com, telling Ianto silently that Jack was talking to her and he nodded, giving a thumbs up before turning to lift the stack of files and head toward his the cog door and head out of the hub.

" _Olivia, this is a sting operation_ ," she heard him again. " _You have to respond to your team leader otherwise I'll run in there, guns blazing_."

"I'm not calling you Captain Eye Candy, Jack," she retorted, glancing around the hub then frowning, "Where's William?"

" _Check the CCTV_ ," Jack advised just as Olivia stepped toward her computer to do just that. " _He should be in the main hub. He's not supposed to be on his own_."

"Well, it's the end of the day," she murmured, keeping her attention on the computer.

She jumped and looked to the cog door as the alarm went off to see William walking in with a grin on his face and a pizza box in his hands.

"Supper's on me, lass!" he grinned, nearly leaping up the stairs and heading toward her. Olivia swallowed as her heart raced when she saw that grin, but his voice brought her back to the fact that he was _not_ who she wanted him to be. "I wasn't sure what you like, so I brought cheese."

"That's fine," Olivia nodded as he set the pizza on her desk as she eyed him.

" _I wouldn't eat that if I were you_ ," Jack advised, and she wished she could make a retort to him, but instead said nothing.

"Ready?" William smiled and she only nodded, pulling up her chair and he pulled his chair closer to hers from his desk, grabbing a huge white binder from his desk to hand it to her. "Right. This has all the lists. You just go down the list and I'll find the parts in all this mess."

"Ok," she nodded, instantly opening the binder as William opened the pizza box to take out a piece of pizza and chow down on it before sitting and rolling his chair around the pile of parts.

" _Oh, this is gonna be thrilling_ ," Jack muttered into the com and Olivia glared at the page as she read it. She glanced at the pizza as she and William began their work and finally gave in to her growling stomach, taking a piece to start eating. " _I told you not to eat it!_ "

"It's _fine_ ," Olivia growled, lowly but it caught William's attention and he turned a frown to her in wonder.

"You say somethin'?" he asked.

"Oh…" she murmured, thinking quickly. "I was just saying this pizza's really good."

"Oh, aye, it is," he nodded taking another bite of his piece before turning back to his work.

The next hour was filled with the two of them making sure all his equipment was present and accounted for. Jack fake-snored in Olivia's ear once in a while and Olivia responded by speaking loudly whenever she had to read something off the list, making Jack curse in her ear. She got him every time, ignoring William whenever he frowned up at her but she kept her gaze on the binder.

"Time for a wee break," William sighed, standing from crouching over his things on the floor. He stepped toward his chair and sat down with another sigh, peeking into the pizza box before lowering the lid and smiling to Olivia as she read one of the pages of the binder. "Gettin' used to me face yet?"

Olivia shot her gaze up to him as he smiled at her and she swallowed before looking back to the binder.

"Very nearly," she lied. She was nowhere _near_ getting used to the face he'd stolen, and she was _sure_ he'd stolen it. "There's some pretty sophisticated equipment here, Will…if I can call you Will?"

"Only if I can call you Liv," William grinned, assuming she'd say yes, but instead she stiffened and his grin fell slowly when she turned a burning glare to him.

" _Keep cool, Nova_ ," Jack warned in his com and Olivia took in a deep, silent breath through her nose before looking back to the binder.

"No, you may _not_ ," she replied, evenly but both men heard the anger in her voice.

"I didn't mean to step on a nerve, lass," he explained. "Olivia it is. And…aye, it's pretty sophisticated but I'm sure the rest of you are clever enough to manage it, eh?"

"Yeah," Olivia hummed with a slow nod.

" _I know it's hard to stomach his face, Olivia, but you've_ _gotta_ _engage him_ ," Jack encouraged over the com.

"I'm…sorry, Will," she smiled charmingly, setting her arms on the open binder in her lap to lean forward a bit. "You know what? I _am_ getting used to your face. It's pretty handsome."

" _That's it. Get the flirt on_."

"Why thank ye," he grinned with a nod, running a hand through his hair and she gave a giggle, making him look up at her with wide eyes and a smile. "Oh! So she _can_ laugh."

" _That was fake, right?_ " Jack hoped. " _Tell me you're not falling for this guy_."

"I'm not entirely without humor," Olivia smiled. "But tell me, how does an intelligent and handsome man such as yourself end up working for Torchwood?"

"Oh, it's the old story," he shrugged. "Stumbled onto something I really shouldn't have, but I proved…useful to the team, so they let me on in."

" _Sounds familiar_ ," Jack muttered, sarcastically. " _Gwen said she shook his hand. That must've been when he read her mind and got that story_."

"Oh, so not unlike how Gwen came here," Olivia smiled, casually. "You two must've had a lot to talk about then. Stories to compare."

"Aye," William nodded before leaning forward to lean on his knees. "But enough about _me_. What about _you_ , eh? How'd _you_ end up here?"

"Connections," she shrugged, saying nothing more.

" _You're good with honest but vague responses, Nova_ ," Jack smirked.

"Oh, come on," William urged with a smile. "There's gotta be more than _that_."

"Sorry," Olivia smiled with a cute shrug. "That's all."

" _Ask him about his first alien_ ," Jack suggested.

"What was your first experience?" Olivia asked William. "A Weevil? Ooh! Torchwood Two is in Scotland, right? I'd die if you said it was the Loch Ness Monster!"

"No," William laughed, lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his head and she swallowed as she noted that he even _moved_ like the Doctor. "I managed to lock up a raptor in a warehouse where I used to work. That was what got me into Torchwood. I helped capture it and find out how it got here."

" _He stole that one from Ianto_ ," Jack informed her. " _Only his was a pterodactyl. Ianto said William patted his back. This guy's taking bits of_ _our_ _lives to make up his own back story._ "

"A raptor?!" Olivia grinned. "Seriously?! That's so cool!"

"Yeah?" he smiled with a shrug. "I didn't think anything of it. I just did what I thought I should do. But quit askin' me about… _me_ , lass! I wanna know more about you! What was _your_ first?"

" _Careful, Olivia_ ," Jack warned. " _He's fishing_."

 _No shit, Sherlock_ , Olivia thought but instead told William, "Oh, my first here was an Acipenser. Shape-shifting fish alien. Thing was jacked up on meth!"

William laughed as Olivia shook her head as if recalling the memory and tried looking him over in quick glances. He'd been moving too much for her to try to look for any devices that might be on him, but now that he was sitting relatively still, she could try to look for that Perception Filter or Shimmer Jack had talked about. As she took a glance at his wrist, she noticed a black device on his wrist that did _not_ look like a watch.

"Olivia," he called gently, making her shoot her wide-eyed gaze at his face as he leaned forward, smiling warmly, "I'm _really_ glad we could get over my unfortunate looks. You're a really nice girl."

"Yeah," she nodded with a forced smile. "You're not so bad yourself, Will. I'm sorry about my behavior."

"Well…I know of a way you could make it up to me," he smirked, making her give a frown but she said nothing. "How about tomorrow night, you and me go for a drink? Maybe dinner? My treat."

" _Is he asking you out?!_ "

"Are you asking me out?" Olivia asked for herself and Jack, staring at William with wide eyes. "Like…out on a date?"

"Aye," he nodded, hesitantly.

"W-Well…" she sputtered, looking away from him and to his wrist watch again, but froze when she realized he was reaching for her. Before she could think to move back, he gently took her hand and she felt that invasion of her mind again, making her eyes shoot to his face and widen.

"He may not come back, Olivia," he murmured, making her frown slightly before he realized what he was talking about. "He may not _ever_ come back. Ye've already held out three years for the Doctor, ye really wanna hold out even longer?"

" _You told him about the Doctor?_ " Jack questioned.

"Will," she murmured, her frown disappearing and her eyes narrowing to a glare as she answered Jack's question. "I never told you about the Doctor."

Will's eyes widened before he frowned in confusion and sputtered, "Y-Ye musta done. I remember…ye told me that's who I look like."

"Get your hand off her and stand _very_ slowly."

Olivia smirked up at Jack as he stood right behind William, aiming his gun at the back of his head. Will swallowed and pulled his hand from Olivia's to raise both of them in the air, slowly standing as Jack had instructed. Jack gripped William's shoulder harshly and shoved him forward to head toward the stairs, his gun still aimed at him.

"You know where the vaults are," Jack sneered, his hand still gripping his shoulder. "How would you like a cell between two Weevils?"

"What'd I do?!" William shrieked, but didn't stop or struggle.

"Jack! Wait!" Olivia called, making him stop and look to her incredulously as William gave a relieved smile.

She hurried down the stairs and stepped up to William as he smiled, gratefully down at her, but his smile instantly fell when she lifted his arm and pressed a button on his wrist watch. He looked to her with now wide green eyes…his skin a lavender color and not skin at all, but scales, his hair disappearing completely.

"Shimmer," Olivia nearly sang, pulling the watch off his wrist. "Ok, _now_ you can take him to the vaults."

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


	10. Dodging the Past

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9: Dodging the Past**_

"Ready Gwen?" Jack asked, patting her back as he passed behind her the next morning, heading for the stairs leading to the interrogation room where he'd put William.

"Ready," Gwen nodded, lifting the file to follow him, but she stopped from following him when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned with a frown to see Olivia behind her with a smile as she nodded toward the file she held. Communicating without words, Gwen nodded and handed the file to her, knowing she wanted to take part in the interrogation of the man that used her lover's face.

"Go get 'im," Gwen smirked as Olivia stepped around her, holding the file at her side and smiling in return.

"Oh, I plan to do more than just 'get him'," Olivia smirked before hurrying down the stairs and rushing after Jack.

He didn't seem to notice who was behind him until they stepped to the door and he turned to open it for, who he _thought_ was Gwen, but his eyes widened when he realized Olivia was trying to pass him. He gripped her arm to stop her from heading down the stairs, making her frown as she looked up at his stern gaze.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned. "Where's Gwen?"

"At her desk," she replied. "And _I'm_ gonna help you with the interrogation this time."

"No you're not," he argued. "You're too involved."

"And _you're_ not?" she smirked.

"Olivia, I'm serious."

"So am _I_."

Olivia pulled her arm from his grasp and stepped down the stairs, calmly as Jack gritted his teeth, shutting the door and following her. She slapped the file onto the table in front of William…or rather the purple-scaled green-eyed creature sitting at the table. She leaned on the table in front of him, glaring at him, and Jack guessed _she_ was taking the lead on this one as he leaned on the far wall near the stairs, crossing his arms over his chest as he too glared at the creature.

"I think you owe us a few explanations," Olivia began. "Your real name, what you are, where you come from, why you're here…just to name a few."

"Your real name would be a good place to start," Jack chimed in, making Olivia nod, but she didn't look away from the creature as he glanced between the two, looking nervous. "Oh, and, fair warning…you've already pissed _her_ off enough, so I'd suggest you tell the truth or I can't tell you what she might do."

The stranger glanced between them again before swallowing, nervously and Olivia realized why the Doctor's eyes had been green in the dream she'd had the night before. They were the same shade of green she was seeing now, still darting between herself and Jack until they settled on her.

"My name really is William," he finally replied, his Scottish accent lost so that his voice was deep, changed dramatically from the voice he'd had before.

"How convenient," Jack snapped.

"He's telling the truth," Olivia assured Jack, making both males look to her with wide eyes but she only stared at William. "Next question: What species are you?"

"Skarran," he replied without hesitation.

" _Now_ you're lying," Olivia shot back. "I know Skarrans…I've met Skarrans while back. You're not Skarran."

"I _am_!" William insisted. "I'm a hybrid. My mother wasn't Skarran, but I was _raised_ Skarran."

"Oh, goody. You're a regular Mr. Spock then, aren't you?" Olivia shot back.

"Who?" William frowned in wonder, and Jack couldn't help but snicker as Olivia gave William a bored expression.

"An alien not knowing Star Trek," Jack chuckled. "That's priceless."

"Alright, Skarran," Olivia nodded along, ignoring Jack for the moment. "What was your mother?"

"Aurorian," he replied, and Olivia's gaze fell slightly as she recognized that name as well.

"Aurorians have that same skin tone," Jack informed her. "It fits."

"Alright then," Olivia nodded, she hadn't once taken her gaze from William as she continued, "So you were raised Skarran, does that mean you're from…wherever the Skarrans come from?"

"Skarrinium," William nodded. "Yes."

"Now the good part," Jack smirked, finally shoving from the wall to stride toward the table and lean on its surface next to William as Olivia stood tall but didn't move from her spot and Jack asked, "Why are you here?"

"On Earth or in Torchwood?" William asked, sincerely.

"Both," Olivia blurted, still glaring at him.

They stared William down as he took in a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh before lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. He lowered his hand and his gaze to the surface of the table as he sat forward and began his story.

"I used to be a soldier," he confessed. "Three years ago, my superiors sent me here to infiltrate this institute to find your weaknesses. At the time, the Skarrans were using the Earth's gravity to pull in some Carnak ships passing by and use a Beta wave to take them out. I was sent to Torchwood Two in case they located the base and went after it. But something happened and I wasn't getting any information and the intelligence I was sending to the base wasn't getting through. I was forgotten about so I decided I'd just lay low until they came to get me or I could find a way home."

"How convenient," Olivia ground out, drawing both males' attentions to her as she marched toward the table again to slam her hands down onto it, making William jump as Jack didn't budge and she glared down at William. "You took that from _my_ memories, you son of a bitch!"

"I didn't!" William insisted, desperately. "When I read your mind I only found your memories of the Doctor just to find out your history with him since I looked like him! I didn't see anything about the Skarrans! I swear!"

Olivia glared at William, seething as he stared back at her with wide eyes, pleading with her to believe him. Something in his eyes told her he was telling the truth and she took in a breath through her nose before nodding and he sighed in relief.

"That was when I met him," Olivia began, drawing his attention back to her as Jack frowned at her in wonder. " _We_ were the ones that found the base and stopped them from using the Beta wave. If we hadn't, my hometown would've been destroyed."

"I was just—"

"You finish that sentence and I'll deck you," Olivia cut in, knowing exactly what he was about to say. He was just 'following orders' or 'doing his job.'

"Easy, Olivia," Jack called, warningly.

"I'm fine, Jack," she assured him, not looking away from William. "I just have one more question and I'll be off. William, if you know what's good for you, you'll answer this question honestly like you've _been_ doing, alright?"

He nodded, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Good," she smiled sardonically, leaning a bit more forward on the table's surface. "What made you choose _this_ face to disguise yourself with?"

William frowned, glancing at Jack but he only nodded and William looked back to Olivia to reply, "I thought you knew how a Shimmer worked."

"Enlighten me," she ground out.

"I can't _choose_ the face I want," he explained quickly. "It only disguises me as a human, it doesn't change my face."

Olivia stared wide eyes at him in surprise as she stood tall.

"So I was right," Jack chimed in. "It's just a coincidence."

"Maybe…" Olivia murmured, but leaned sideways, still staring at William, making both males frown at her as she amended, "…maybe not."

Jack watched her carefully as she stepped slowly around the table, closer to William who still frowned at her but she was no longer glaring at him so he allowed her to approach.

"What are you doing?" Jack questioned, standing tall to head toward her but stopped when she raised a hand to him.

"Just a little examination, Jack," she assured him stepping next to William and seemed to be staring at his ear. "Nothing to worry about. Will, I'm not gonna hurt you, just hold still."

William only obeyed as Olivia leaned forward and gently moved the shell of his ear forward to get a better look at what she immediately saw behind it. There was a scar separating the scales behind his ear that seemed to run up and down behind his ear and stopped at his jaw.

"Have you had surgery recently?" she wondered, making both males frown at her again as she stood tall and looked to William as he looked to her.

"Before I was sent on my mission," he confirmed.

"And when were you sent on your mission?"

"I told you…three years ago."

"What _month_?"

William frowned in wonder before looking to the table in thought and Jack's frown deepened at Olivia in absolute confusion before William looked back at her.

"Some time humans call…July."

Olivia nodded before turning to run toward the stairs, making Jack and William both frown at her before Jack shot after her.

"Olivia—?!"

"He's a distraction!" she shouted in explanation as he ran after her but they both froze when the lights immediately shut off. "Shit!"

Jack tapped his com and called, "Ianto? Can you hear me? Ianto?!"

"It's no use," Olivia told him, both trying to see through the dark. "They'll have taken out the coms, too."

"Alright, Olivia, time for an explanation," Jack ordered firmly, reaching through the dark and finding her hand to stop her in the hall they had reached, turning her toward him. "What do you mean, 'He's a distraction'?"

"He wasn't sent here for the mission he says he was," she explained. "The Doctor and I stopped that Beta wave _before_ William was sent here. I met the Doctor on my prom night in _June_. That's a whole _month_ before he was sent here."

"So you're saying the Skarrans sent him as a distraction to let our guard down," Jack realized. "But…why?"

"I'm taking a stab in the dark here, but I'm guessing it's Skell coming after _me_ ," Olivia replied. "Why else would William be told he's being sent on _that_ particular mission? He's sending me a message."

"Revenge?" Jack guessed. " _That's_ what you're going with?"

"You're gonna question this _now_?!" Olivia snapped, yanking her hand from Jack's grasp just as the emergency lights finally blasted on and they glanced around before she turned a glare at him. "They're either attacking or getting _ready_ to attack and you're gonna nit-pick about my theories?!"

"Fine," Jack shot back as Olivia turned and ran down the hall to head toward the main hub and he shot after her. "But why wait this long for revenge?!"

"Skarrans are patient!" Olivia replied, both still hurrying down the hall. "They'll wait for ages till the perfect opportunity to come along to take out their enemy!"

"Jack!" Gwen shouted, she and Ianto standing at their computers as Jack and Olivia rushed toward them. "What's going on?! The CCTV went dead!"

"Along with everything else," Ianto added as Jack and Olivia stopped in front of them, Olivia instantly typing at her computer. "Olivia, what are you doing? Everything's down."

"Are we in lockdown?" Jack wondered to him as he stepped closer to Olivia to see what she was doing.

"No, but the power's down," Ianto replied, both he and Gwen frowning at Olivia when she didn't move.

"Olivia, what are you doing?" Jack questioned this time, but she didn't stop typing.

"They're controlling the power," she explained. "Even if the computer's down, they'll read the membrane on the bottom and get the signal for my message."

"What message?" Gwen questioned, stepping up to the other side of Olivia and glancing between her and Jack. "Who are 'they'?"

"Skarrans," Olivia answered her question, still typing.

"Her past has apparently come back to haunt her," Jack explained of Olivia before she finally hit enter and stopped typing, catching everyone's attention.

"They're coming in through the Invisible Block," Olivia explained, heading around the three who were now stunned as they glanced at each before hurrying after her. "Small landing party. No bigger than three…maybe four."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jack snarled, marching after her as she stopped where the Invisible Lift would lower and he gripped her arm to pull her to face him, glaring down at her as she stared back up at him, unsurprised. "You're letting them _in_?!"

"Just Skell and two or three of his men," she nodded. "They want _me_ , Jack, and they'll _have_ me. Ianto, be a dear and go get William. Hafta make this look real."

"Make _what_ look real?" Jack snapped, seeing Ianto start to head toward the interrogation room out of the corner of his eye. "Ianto, don't you _dare_ take another step."

"I have a plan, and I can't explain right now, but I need William _right_ here, _with_ me and the rest of you need to make yourselves scarce," Olivia ordered, looking to the watch on her wrist. "They're gonna be here any minute, now _hurry up_!"

Jack glared down at her before turning to nod to Ianto and let go of her arm as they still stared at each other.

"You better know what you're doing," he warned, lowly. "This smacks of the Doctor, ya know? And he always said he had a plan that usually went to shit."

"But he always gets out _somehow_ , doesn't he?" she smirked, giving a wink before she noticed Ianto returning to a very confused William. "Alright, Will! Right next to me. Your Commander Skell will be here any minute."

"You know who my Commander is?!" William nearly shrieked as Ianto let him go and Olivia took his wrist to hold it up and examine the Shimmer wrist watch.

"A human can use this to look Skarran, right?" she asked, not looking at him as she tried pulling the Shimmer off.

"You have to set it," William explained as she lowered his wrist and she pulled the Shimmer onto her own wrist, making him frown at her. "But why would you want to look Skarran?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," she replied, holding her wrist out to him. "Set it."

He did so without argument and showed her how to turn it on then off.

"Olivia, seriously, what are you doing?" Jack demanded, making her look to her three colleagues with wide eyes.

"What are you guys still doing here?!" she snapped, waving them away toward nowhere in particular. "Get outta here before he sees you!"

When they didn't move she rolled her eyes with a growl of a sigh and explained, "Look, they made William look like the Doctor and sent him here to get to me and _now_ , I'm about to pull off an _extremely_ clever plan that involves _you_ not being here. So, be a bunch of dears and go hide in Jack's office until I tell you it's safe to come out!"

"Since when are _you_ in charge, Felton?" Jack snapped.

"Since I've _dealt_ with these guys before, Harkness," Olivia shot back. "Now get outta here, and if I need help, I'll call you in. Something to the effect of, 'Jack, get your ass in here, something's gone wrong!'"

Jack glared at her for a moment before turning and marching past Ianto and Gwen who hurriedly followed him and Olivia turned to William to take his hand and place it on her arm.

"Hold tight to me," she instructed. "I'm gonna struggle and you need to make it look real. Don't worry about hurting me."

"But…I was just supposed to provide intel!" William insisted, staring at her with wide eyes.

"And I'm about to boost your points," she replied, pulling her com from her pocket and putting it in her ear, arranging her hair so that no one would see it. She tapped it and asked, "Can anybody hear me? Jack? Ianto? Gwen? Any of you?"

" _Loud and clear, Olivia_ ," Ianto replied, and she guessed Jack was still angry with her and not speaking to her.

"Alright," she nodded. "Like I said, don't make a move unless I tell you. William, let me do the talking. You just play along, got it?"

William nodded, but still stared at her in confusion, gripping her arm semi-tightly before his fingers tightened when the lift moved. They both looked to the Invisible Block as it descended and Olivia instantly began pretending to struggle, causing William's hold on her to tighten even more. He stared ahead at the lift with a stoic expression as she struggled and growled when the lift stopped, revealing a familiar face to her in bright royal purple armor, his silver eyes glaring at her as she glared back, baring her teeth. Two of his men stood on either side of him in red armor like his.

"Olivia Felton," the Skarran Commander growled in a deep tone. "How wonderful to see you again."

"Skell! You _moron_! What do you think you're doing?!" Olivia spat, making all of them, even William frown at her in confusion. "You're gonna ruin _everything_!"

"And what exactly would I be ruining?" Skell asked, stepping down from the block, his two men behind him and she continued glaring at him as he stepped up to her, glaring down at her.

"My mission, _Sir_ ," Olivia growled, mockingly and making the Skarrans around her frown even deeper in even more confusion.

" _Your_ mission?" Skell echoed.

"I was here waiting for the _Doctor_!" she growled, yanking her arm from William's loosened grip and pressing a button on the Shimmer to activate it. Her appearance changed to give her scaled skin, silver eyes, and similar tattooed markings to match a Skarran's. "I was made to look like Olivia Felton so that he would find me _here_ and I would have revenge for our people!"

"I was never informed of such a mission," Skell shot back. "My orders were to send William here to gain Olivia Felton's trust—"

"And find out everything about the Doctor so that you could make a move against him, disposing of _her_ in the process," Olivia cut in, making Skell's eyes shoot wide at her in disbelief. "You're too late, Skell. I've already killed Olivia Felton. She's been dead for months."

Skell stared down at Olivia in evaluation and she felt her heart start to thump in her chest in panic. If he questioned her on anything else she had nothing…not even a fake _name_ to give him. She'd have to call in Jack and the others to help her, and she didn't want to do that. She recalled that though Skarrans were brilliant strategists, they were thick, as the Doctor had told her. She held Skell's gaze in anger, anger she channeled through the fact that they'd used the Doctor's face on one of their men.

"Then we shall leave you to your mission," Skell nodded, making Olivia give an inward sigh of relief as the Skarran Commander gestured to William, asking, "Would you like William to remain for assistance?"

"No offense, Will, but you'll just get in the way," Olivia replied, giving him a subtle wink before turning to Skell again and nodded, "Thank you, though, Commander."

"Very well," Skell nodded before turning to head up to the block and stand on it with his men, waving toward William to follow him.

"I'll…just…resume my disguise now, Commander," Olivia announced, and Skell nodded to her. She quickly deactivated the Shimmer on her wrist as William stepped forward but gripped his arm to pull him toward her when she looked like herself again. "William, I just wanted to say there're no hard feelings. You couldn't have known I was here. You were just…following orders."

She pulled the Shimmer from her wrist and pressed it into William's hand as she pretended to shake it and he gave a small frown before nodding at what she said but handed the thing back to her, making her frown up at him.

"Keep it," he whispered with a smile. "I won't need it anymore."

Olivia nodded with another smile before he turned and headed back toward Skell and his men to stand with them. She watched the lift head up and as soon as it had sealed the lights came back on and she turned to bolt toward the computers, taping her com.

"Guys, they're on the street, everything's back up," she reported, rushing toward her computer to start typing at it to find out where their ship was, if there was a ship, and make sure it left without a hitch.

"We in the clear?" Jack asked, the three suddenly around her and staring at her screen as she had a linear image of the orbit of Earth, the Skarran ship in the image as well.

"Well they certainly bought it," she replied optimistically, none of them looking from the screen. "Now if they just leave orbit… Come on, come on, come _on_ …"

The linear image of the Skarran suddenly disappeared and Olivia typed at her computer to make sure it hadn't hidden itself somehow and after a moment she slumped in her chair with a sigh.

"They're gone," she sighed again, making the other three sigh as well in relief.

Gwen leaned over and hugged her tightly as Ianto came up behind Olivia to squeeze her shoulders.

"We can all use some tea now, I think," he thought aloud before patting Olivia's shoulders and turning to head toward the kitchen as Gwen stood tall and patted Olivia's cheeks gently, once before she turned to head after Ianto to help him.

Olivia didn't move as she stared at the computer screen and Jack stood on her left, crossing his arms over his chest again as he kept his gaze on her. She brought a shaking hand to her face from her keyboard and set it over her mouth, not taking her gaze from the computer screen.

"I never thought my past would catch up with me like that," she whispered, making Jack lower his arms as he still stared at her. "The Doctor said they wouldn't come back. If they'd found me at home instead of here…what would've happened to mom and Aaron?"

"No need to worry about that now," Jack assured her. "They probably won't be coming back _now_."

"You can't know that," she argued, unmoving. " _None_ of us can."

Jack gave a silent nod, knowing she was right. He stepped behind her and placed his hands on her arms to rub them from elbow to shoulder, unable to keep himself from smiling as he brought his hands to rest on her shoulders.

"That plan of yours was _brilliant_ , Nova," he smiled, proudly as he rubbed her shoulders. "I never would've thought of that."

"Yeah, you'd have gone in guns blazing, huh?" she chuckled.

"You know me too well already," he smirked, leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek then murmured, "Speaking of guns blazing…"

"Funny, Harkness," she shot back, knowing he was being suggestive and playfully slapped his hands from her shoulders before standing to turn to him, meeting his charming smirk with her sarcastic one as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry about earlier, Jack, but I didn't really have time to explain. Sometimes you just have to trust that I know what I'm doing, ya know?"

"Yeah, last time I left you to your own devices, you got yourself paralyzed, remember?" he shot back, making her give a narrow glare before she stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed, genuinely before sighing, "Well, I guess I'd better contact Torchwood Two. Tell 'em their techy was an alien."

"What are we doing with his stuff?" Olivia asked, nodding to the piles next to her desk and Jack frowned at it as well before shrugging and turning back to her.

"You want it?" he asked, sincerely.

Olivia frowned deeply at him before looking to the pile in thought then shrugged as he had done and looked back at him.

"Aaron might want it," she nodded. "He's getting more into the technological sciences. He might like it."

"I thought he was trying to be a mechanic," Jack frowned in wonder and she shrugged again.

"He wanted to be my technical support," she explained. "The mechanics is more of a hobby. He told me he should have a manly hobby to off-set his gayness. His words, not mine."

Jack couldn't help but laugh heartily, making her smile in amusement as well before they both looked to the piles again.

"I'll take it all with me when I go up for my visit," she reported. "End of this month, maybe."

"Oh, good," Jack nodded. "Be sure to tell him it's a present from me."

"Easy, tiger," she smirked. "I already told him you've got Ianto. For all intents and purposes to him, you're taken."

"Aw, now why do you have to spoil my fun?"

* * *

 **A/N:** getting to see how Olivia can solve a problem on her own. reviews?


	11. Perception

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10: Perception**_

"Well, I finally got through to Emmet at Torchwood Two," Jack announced, stepping into the doorway of his office to lean on the frame of his door, crossing his arms over his chest. Olivia spun in her chair at her desk to face him as Gwen did the same at her desk and Ianto approached the three with a box full of Chinese food boxes. "He refused to believe William was an alien. Guess he acted pretty normal. He fooled a lot of people."

"That doesn't surprise me," Olivia nodded, rocking slightly in her chair. "He was pretty convincing."

"He didn't fool _you_ ," Gwen recalled.

"Ah, but _she's_ the Perception Goddess," Jack smirked, shoving off the door frame to stride toward her, leaning sideways on her desk with a charming smirk. "And I do mean _Goddess_."

"I'm sure you do, Captain Eye Candy," she smirked back at him.

"At least we didn't have to Retcon him," Ianto chimed in, setting a box on Gwen's desk next to her then approaching Jack and Olivia to hand them both a box each as Olivia frowned at him in wonder, Jack nodding as they took their food.

"Retcon?" Olivia wondered, glancing between the men. "What's Retcon?"

"Shame on you, Jack," Gwen smiled, adorably as she opened her box of food and pulled a pair of chopsticks from the box. "You didn't brief her on Retcon?"

"I was getting around to it," Jack shot back, taking the chopsticks Ianto offered him before the Welshman handed a pair to Olivia as well. "We've been busy."

"Well, since we've got time now, what is it?" Olivia nearly demanded, getting irritated that no one was answering her question.

"It's an amnesia pill," Jack explained, poking at his food in the box. "You take it, fall asleep, next morning you wake up with no memory of what you've done for however long we decide."

"Why would you have to erase a Torchwood team member's memory?" Olivia wondered, picking at her food as well.

"It's how we fire them," Jack replied, making her frown at him as he sauntered around her to lean in front of her on her desk as Ianto pulled his own box of food and chopsticks to lean next to Gwen. "Well…I say we…I mean here at Torchwood Three. They're dismissed, twenty-four hours later they get Retcon slipped in their drink and they don't remember anything about Torchwood."

"Weird that _you_ would be the one to develop an amnesia pill," Olivia muttered, making the three frown at her in wonder.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Jack questioned as she looked up at him.

"Well, considering you lost two years of your memory," Olivia shrugged, casually. "You think people wouldn't try to get their memory back after you erased it?"

"Gwen being proof of that," Ianto added, making Jack turn a glare to him and he shrugged in return. "She has a point."

"Go let the pterodactyl out," Jack ordered him as Gwen giggled and Olivia frowned in utter confusion. "She's probably itching for a flight."

" _He_ probably is," Ianto retorted, setting his box of food on Gwen's desk and headed toward the stairs.

"Pterodactyl?" Olivia frowned, recalling how Ianto had gotten the job at Torchwood and asked, "You _kept_ the pterodactyl?"

"Well what were we gonna do with her?" Jack wondered. "We couldn't let her fly around freaking out the people of Cardiff."

"Ianto said it was a _he_ ," Olivia noticed.

"They're havin' a disagreement on that," Gwen chimed in. "A bit difficult to have a look at the plumbin' on a dinosaur."

"We wouldn't know where to start," Jack shrugged.

"Could always Google it," Olivia shrugged back, taking a bite of food.

Jack chuckled as he took a bite of food as well and Olivia jumped when a shadow passed over them, making her duck as she looked up to see the pterodactyl as it shrieked above them. Jack couldn't help but chuckle at her as she stared at the thing flying around the Hub.

"She's harmless," Jack assured her.

" _He_ is," Ianto smiled as he returned, seemingly out of nowhere.

"That's good," Olivia murmured, still staring before her phone went off and she jumped, pulling it from her pocket with one hand and reading the screen.

"Boyfriend?" Jack smirked as Ianto lifted his box of food to eat again.

"It's Aaron," she replied, lifting her phone toward Jack. "Hey, Captain Eye Candy. Smile!"

Jack looked up and gave sultry look to the phone as she snapped the picture then went back to his food when she lowered her phone.

"Ianto! You're next!" she called, standing from her seat to race toward him and poise her phone in front of him just as he took in a mouthful of food, making her suck her teeth and give a disappointed sneer as she lowered her phone when he looked up at her. "Ianto!"

"Sorry," he muttered but she stepped toward Gwen and sat next to her to hold her phone up in front of them, both grinning happily as she snapped the picture.

"What do you need our pictures for?" Jack wondered as Olivia raced toward Ianto to get his picture, which he posed for cutely before taking another bite of food.

"To show mom and Aaron who I work with," Olivia smiled, heading back to her seat, adding in a mutter, "And 'cause Aaron wanted pictures of you and Ianto."

"Even better, send him a video," Jack suggested, making her look up at him with a frown as he pulled Ianto in front of him.

"Video? Of what?" Olivia frowned in wonder.

"This…" Jack smirked before planting his lips to Ianto's, making the Welshman give a noise of surprise as Olivia bowed her head in exasperation, Gwen giving a sigh to match.

"Jack, I'm sure you're enjoying that, but I'm not taking video of you and Ianto making out," Olivia muttered, glancing up from her phone to see them still kissing and rolled her eyes to turn them back to her phone, texting Aaron.

"Why does he want pictures of Jack and Ianto?" Gwen wondered.

"He didn't believe me when I said Jack was taken," she shrugged as Jack and Ianto finally came out of their make-out session.

"Alright," Jack sighed, patting Ianto's rear before turning to head back to his office with his food. "Enough sexy time. Back to work."

Olivia frowned at her phone before looking to Jack and setting her food down to shove out of her chair and head after him, calling, "Hey! Jack!"

"Yeah?" he called back, not stopping as he headed for his desk and plopped into his chair and Olivia followed him in, stopping on the other side of his desk.

"My mom apparently entered a contest for a week's stay at Disneyland and won," she replied casually, still looking at her phone. "I'm gonna need that week in a few days."

"You've got it," Jack smirked. "You're good to work till then, right?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded, lowering her phone with a slight frown. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I dunno," Jack replied, sarcastically as he sat up, leaning on his desk. "Maybe because Skarrans came back to haunt you using a Doctor look-alike? I don't know about you, but I could use a day off myself from all that."

"Well, as you can tell, I'm pretty resilient," she smirked. "I'll be good for a few days. I'll try not to let my week run long."

"Don't worry about that," he dismissed. "We can cope. Give your mom and Aaron my love."

"Oh, don't lead him on," Olivia groaned. "He talks about you enough already, and I am _not_ introducing you as my stepfather… _ever_. Which is what you'll be if I tell my mother that you send your love. No flirting."

Jack couldn't help but laugh heartily as she turned and marched out of the office, lifting her phone to examine it and text Aaron again.

 _I'll be there in a couple days & enjoy ur pics_

 _THANK YOU! XD See u l8r doll_

* * *

 _Evening..._

Olivia sighed as she snuggled under the covers of her bed, grumbling about the rain pattering outside again.

"Stupid rain," she muttered, pulling the covers over her head to fight the cold. "Does it _always_ have to rain in Cardiff?"

" _Pretty much_ ," a familiar voice replied above the covers, making her pull them from her head to look at her image of the Doctor. " _How are you, Liv?_ "

"Considering my past has come back to haunt me three years later?" she shot back, shifting to look up at him as he reclined next to her. "Oh, I'm just peachy keen."

" _I'm sorry, love_ ," he murmured. " _It's my fault, I know_."

"No it's not, you idiot," she retorted. "It's _my_ fault for not thinking _something_ from my past wouldn't come back for me. I'm just glad it wasn't Weeping Angels."

" _No Weeping Angels in Cardiff_ ," he smirked. " _Well…not yet._ _Well_ _…not this week_."

"Shut up," she giggled, turning to face her back to him. "I need sleep. Big day tomorrow."

" _Is it?_ " he wondered as she snuggled into her pillow, sighing tiredly as sleep almost instantly started setting in.

"With Torchwood, no day is _little_ ," she yawned with a smile, hearing the Doctor scoff before she settled in to sleep. "Goodnight, my Highwayman."

" _Goodnight, my sweet Liv_."

Olivia drifted into sleep, the sound of the TARDIS in her head…she thought.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

The TARDIS landed outside the block of flats where Olivia lived, and a figure hurried out, running straight for the door of the building to avoid the rain. The Doctor shook the rain from his hair, flapping his coat to throw the drops from it before reaching into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver to aim it at the doorknob. He hurried through the door, quietly shutting it behind him before he reached into another pocket and pulled out a mobile to stare at it in thought.

He wanted to see her. He _needed_ to see her. After everything that had happened on Mars, and with his death imminent, though he still wasn't sure when, he _needed_ her. But at the same time…

"I can't…" he whispered, lowering the phone and sighing as he leaned on the door. "I can't face her after this. If I tell her what happened she'll hate me. After everything I told her about fixed points in time and then I do _this_?"

The Doctor growled in frustration before shoving the phone into his pocket and turned to head out the door but stopped. He knew she was asleep. He'd heard her say goodnight, as he did every night when the TARDIS relayed the message to him. Maybe he could see her after all?

He turned and hurried up the stairs, knowing which flat was hers through his search on the TARDIS computer and when he reached her door, he used the Sonic on the lock to easily let himself in. He glanced around the dark, nearly empty room before quietly stepping in, shutting the door behind him before he tucked the Sonic away, making his way down the hall. He stopped when he reached her open bedroom door and swallowed when he saw her facing him, her eyes closed, her breathing deep and even through slightly parted lips as she slept.

"Oh, my sweet Liv," he whispered as he approached the bed. "I missed you."

He quietly stepped toward the bed, feeling his hands start to shake as he stopped next to it, staring down at her and unable to keep himself from smiling. He gently sat next to her, careful not to move the mattress so as not to wake her, still smiling down at her. One of his hands came up to stroke through her raven hair, moving some from her cheek to move closer and press a kiss to it, gently.

"I love you, Liv," he whispered. "I wanna tell you what's happened, spend all my time with you, but…you'll hate me."

"Theta…" she sighed, making him stare wide eyes at her, but she was still asleep as she shifted, snuggling deeper into her pillow.

He watched her as she settled in again and swallowed, feeling his hearts skip a beat each. He missed her, and he hadn't realized how long it'd been for her until the TARDIS had reminded him. Three years. She'd be _more_ than angry with him for waiting so long to see her if she woke now.

"I'm sorry, Liv," he whispered. "You're gonna have to wait a little longer…but I'll leave you a present, my love."

The Doctor held a hand to her face, his palm over her cheek, his thumb gently stroking it as he closed his eyes to concentrate. Olivia gave a moan when he entered her mind, making him smirk before he frowned when he saw the image of her bedroom in America, and he was standing in the doorway, staring at her as she sat on her bed, looking through her scrapbook before she looked to the door...

 _"_ _Theta!" she grinned before launching herself off the bed and running toward him to throw her arms around his neck as his wrapped around her in return. "I knew you'd come back! I missed you! What took you so long?!"_

 _"_ _I missed you, too, Liv," he whispered, holding her close before saying nothing else and planting his lips to hers._

 _When she moaned he slowly pulled his presence from her mind, leaving an image of himself behind for her to control in the dream. He allowed himself a moment to watch as she pulled him back toward the bed, still in their lip lock, and when they fell onto the mattress, he pulled himself away entirely._

Opening his eyes, the Doctor looked down at Olivia as she smiled widely in her sleep, making him smile in return before he pulled his hand from her cheek and stood to leave just as quickly and quietly as he'd arrived.

* * *

 _Morning..._

Olivia sighed as she awoke, stretching and grinning as she recalled her dream before her eyes fluttered open. She stared up at her ceiling and sighed as she recalled the point when her dreams of the Doctor had started. She had felt something familiar in her mind when it had started…almost like a presence had entered her mind. She was drawn from her thoughts when her phone sounded, making her snatch it and quickly press it to his ear, still grinning.

"Hello?" she sighed.

" _Well, what's got you in a sexy mood this morning, Nova?_ " Jack replied on the other end of the phone and she could hear the smirk in his voice, but she didn't care. " _Let me guess: You had a dream about me, didn't you?_ "

"Antagonize me all you want, Jack, you won't be able to bring me down just yet," she smiled, turning in her bed to glance at her clock on her nightstand. "Why are you calling me at six thirty in the morning? I could still get a good hour of sleep."

" _Sorry, Miss Felton, but I need you in as soon as possible_ ," he replied, making her frown in wonder as she propped herself up in her bed.

"Something happen?" she asked, hesitantly.

" _I'm calling everyone in_ ," he told her. " _Last night we picked up a UFO come in and land in the car park across town._ "

"UFO, Jack?" she smirked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow. "Really?"

" _It's unidentified, it was flying, and it's an object_ ," he shot back, playfully.

"Alright," she sighed, pulling the covers back to stand from the bed. "I'll be there in as soon as I can."

* * *

 _Car Park..._

Olivia stared out the window of the SUV at the rain, but even the downpour outside couldn't bring her spirits down. Gwen glanced at her a few times as she drove them to the car park and couldn't help but smile in amusement.

"You're in a good mood," Gwen noticed, making Olivia look to her with wide eyes before she smiled as they approached the car park.

"You might be too if you had the night I had," she smiled, dreamily as she rested her head back on the headrest. "Or at least the dreams."

" _So you_ _were_ _dreaming about me_ ," Jack sounded into their coms, making Olivia roll her eyes.

"Cut the chatter, Jack," she shot back, still not answering his question. "Ianto, where does it say this thing landed?"

" _Should be at the top_ ," Ianto replied into the coms.

"Must not've made too much fuss when it landed," Gwen noted, turning the SUV up the ramp to head to the top floor of the car park. "I don't see any police around."

" _We're not hearing any chatter on the radio_ ," Jack confirmed.

"Whoa!"

Gwen hit the brakes just as they reached the end of the ramp, not wanting to hit the rubble ahead of them. Both girls stared wide eyes out at the raised concrete before looking to each other then back at the scene.

"I think we found it," Olivia reported as Gwen shut the engine off and climbed out of the car to walk toward the fender, staring at the trail of raised concrete running in random swirls over the top level of the, thankfully, empty car park. "What…the…hell?"

"Jack, it looks like this might've been a ship that had a rough landing," Gwen reported as they both stared around the rubble and both began circling it from either side, looking for the UFO. "It's not too big by this trail. We'll be able to carry it in."

" _You two be careful_ ," Jack ordered.

"What are we looking for?" Olivia frowned in wonder as her eyes followed the trail.

"I never know either," Gwen smirked, doing the same on the other end of the rubble. "Anything alien."

"Well, _that_ certainly helps," Olivia smirked, glancing to Gwen but frowned in wonder when her foot gently tapped something, making her instantly look down at her feet and her eyes widened in wonder. "Hey, Gwen! I found something!"

Gwen carefully made her way over the piles of raised concrete as Olivia knelt down to get a better look at the thing at her feet. Both girls stared at the thing with frowns each before Olivia chewed on her lower lip in thought and slowly reached for it to pick it up.

" _What is it, Olivia?_ " Jack questioned as she gripped it with one hand and both women stood tall, still staring at it.

"Looks like a ball," Olivia reported.

"A _metal_ ball," Gwen added.

"A _purple_ metal ball," Olivia replied. "It's not that big either. I'm holding it with one hand."

" _Bring it back and we'll have a look at it_ ," Jack ordered. " _Try not to mess with it too much. It could be a weapon_."

"Got it," Gwen nodded.

They both turned and headed toward the SUV where Gwen popped the back open and Olivia reached in for a clear box to put the ball in, which fit perfectly. She set it on the floor toward the right under the seat built into the frame and both girls climbed into the SUV before Gwen backed down the ramp, expertly.

It wasn't until they reached the second to top level when she turned around and drove back down the ramp to head out of the car park. They were halfway down and on one of the levels when Olivia frowned, something catching her ear. She listened carefully, hearing a steady, high-pitched beeping coming from the back…where they'd put the ball.

"Do you hear that?" Gwen asked, frowning as well and glancing to the back just before the beeping changed to a high-pitched whine.

"Gwen! Get out!"

But it was too late. An explosion sounded, launching the SUV forward off its rear wheels and skidding on its fender a few feet before it flipped forward and slammed onto its roof. Gwen and Olivia tumbled around inside, the back half of the SUV gone. The hunk of metal with the girls in it slid forward several more feet before coming to a screeching stop.

" _Olivia!_ " Jack shouted through the coms. " _Gwen! Answer me! Are you alright?!_ _Girls!_ "

Olivia groaned in pain as she tried to move, her head and shoulders pressed against the roof of the SUV, broken glass around her, her arms over her head and her legs stretched out in front of her, settled at the edge of the windshield, bending her in half. She managed to maneuver her arms to turn herself onto her side, shoving her head and shoulders out from under her bodyweight and her legs shooting out from the broken windshield.

She growled, loudly from the severe pain in her left arm and determined it was broken as the shattered glass around her cut into her skin, her clothes spotted with blood and soot. She tried ignoring her pain again as she maneuvered to crawl out the windshield, rolling to lie on her back after she did. She looked to the driver's seat and realized Gwen wasn't there, or anywhere near, that she could see.

" _Olivia! Gwen! Talk to me! What happened?!_ " Jack shouted again.

Olivia tapped her com and groaned as she sat up, panting from the pain shooting through her body as she reported, "Jack…this is Olivia. The ball…it exploded. I gotta find Gwen."

" _We're on our way_ ," Ianto told her, but she didn't answer as she willed herself to get to her feet.

She growled again as she pulled herself to her feet, but shouted from sudden pain in her left ankle, tumbling back to the ground and landing sideways on her right arm, making her shout in even more pain as she rolled onto her back again. Holding her arm, she breathed through gritted teeth before sitting up again and looking around to see if she could find Gwen from where she sat.

Olivia sighed when she didn't see her anywhere and struggled to stand, leaning her left hand on the overturned SUV to keep herself on her feet as she limped around it to see what was behind it.

"Gwen!" she called, hurrying as fast as she could limp toward the unconscious Gwen lying on her stomach, covered in blood and dirt as Olivia was. She nearly slid next to Gwen's body and turned her with one arm to find her pale cheek smeared with blood, her bangs caked with blood as well. "Gwen, hang on. The guys are coming. Just hang on."

She tapped her com and said, "Guys, I've found Gwen. She's breathing, but she looks pretty bad. You better hurry."

" _We're halfway there, Olivia_ ," Ianto replied through the com. " _What injuries have either of you sustained?_ "

"I've got a broken arm and I think my ankle's broken too, if not sprained," she replied. "Gwen's got a pretty bad head injury and she's out cold, but I'm…I'm ok."

" _Olivia, stay with us_ ," Jack urged, hearing her voice weakening.

"I'm fine…Jack," Olivia insisted, but her vision was starting to blur. "Just…dizzy."

" _Olivia? Talk to me. Olivia?_ _Olivia_ _!_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


	12. The Thing About Doctors

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 11: The Thing About Doctors**_

Olivia groaned as she awoke, lying on her back. Everything hurt. Her head throbbed even more than her right ankle and left arm. She couldn't think of anything but the pain until she heard someone calling her name in the distance. The voice sounded far away and when she felt light over her eyes, she flinched.

"Olivia?" she heard a faint voice call…a voice she didn't know. "Olivia? Can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes. I have to check you for a concussion."

"Where's Gwen?" she groaned, starting to remember what had happened, but she didn't open her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Nova, open your eyes," she heard Jack call soothingly, feeling a large hand stroke her hairline. "You're at Torchwood. Let Martha look at you, please."

That made her frown in wonder. She knew that name. She frowned in pain as she willed her eyes open, wincing against the harsh light of the room before blinking everything into focus. Her eyes darted to Jack before they landed on the gorgeous black woman leaning over her, staring at her with wide, dark eyes.

"Olivia? Can you see clearly?" Martha asked, and all Olivia could do was nod. "It doesn't look like you have a concussion. Your right arm had been dislocated, but I popped it back in while you were asleep. I gave you something to _keep_ you asleep while I did. Your left ankle is sprained, as well. You're lucky nothing was broken. Gwen had a bad gash on her head, but I bound it up. She should be fine."

"You're _both_ lucky to be alive," Jack nodded as Olivia frowned between them. "So, that ball ended up being a bomb. From yours and Gwen's descriptions it sounds like a Callifraxan Grenade. Tough little things…till you put it in a confined space."

"Yeah…" Olivia groaned, trying to sit up with Martha's help. "We put it in a box."

"That explains why it went off," Jack reasoned. "At least we weren't targeted." He looked to Martha as she still examined Olivia, who held her head in one of her hands. "What's the diagnosis, Doctor Jones?"

"Desk work for a few days," Martha replied, turning to head to one of the counters and lifting a pill and a small cup from its surface. She turned back to Olivia, handing her both as she explained, "This is a _very_ good pain killer."

"Anything like the Doctor's magic pain killer?" Olivia blurted, taking the pill and cup and Martha couldn't help but exchange a smirk with Jack.

"Not quite, but close," Martha replied, taking the cup from Olivia when she emptied it.

"And on that note…introductions," Jack smiled, stepping next to Martha. "Olivia Felton, this is the gorgeous and brilliant Doctor Martha Jones. Martha, this is the lovely and _equally_ brilliant Olivia."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Olivia," Martha nodded, stepping to another end of the medical bay to lift something from the counter.

"Likewise," Olivia smiled, feeling the pain killer start to kick in. "I hate to say though, I haven't heard too much about you. Not as much as you've heard about _me_ , anyway, I'm sure."

"We'll have plenty of time to talk before you head back home for your holiday," Martha smiled, examining the sling in her hands.

"Jack, ya blabbermouth," Olivia muttered, glaring at him as he shrugged and Martha snickered as she returned to Olivia's left with the sling.

"You'll have to wear this for a bit," Martha explained, helping Olivia put the sling on. "I wrapped your ankle, but try not to walk too much till you leave. No running."

"Tell the wind not to blow, Martha," Jack chuckled, earning another glare from Olivia.

"Where's Gwen?" she asked again.

"Sent her home," Jack replied. "She was conscious, but pretty rattled from her head injury. Rhys picked her up."

"Good," Olivia sighed. "I'm glad she's ok."

"I'd send _you_ home, but I know there's no one to take care of you there," Martha explained, stepping back to speak to both of them then smiled, "Besides, we've got a bit to catch up on, haven't we?"

"Yeah," Olivia nodded with a smile. "Jack said you knew the Doctor."

"Still do," Martha nodded. "I traveled with him for a while."

"I think she wants to know more about what he said to you about her, Martha," Jack smirked, stepping toward Olivia to perch himself on the edge of the chair next to her, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's been bugging me for answers but I don't have any."

"Right," Martha smiled, knowingly, leaning back on the counter and placing her hands in her white lab coat. "He came to see me after he left you back in Los Angeles with your mum and your friend. Told me _all_ about you. I'd already heard of you from Arlene Smith on your graduation day."

"My principle?!" Olivia squeaked with wide eyes at Martha. "How do you know _her_?!"

"She works for UNIT," Martha smiled. "Believe me, he was just as surprised as you are."

"That's good," Jack nodded with a smirk. "Means she's a _fantastic_ undercover agent."

"Don't you even make the joke I know you're going to make," Olivia warned him. "That's my principle."

Jack gave a pout as Martha gave a laugh before she continued, "Anyway, he told me everything about you. You're a brave one, you know?"

"Did he suggest I work for Torchwood?" Olivia wondered.

"Oh, no," Martha shook her head casually. "He doesn't even know, I don't think. I didn't say anything to him. I called Jack after he left and told him to keep an eye on you. _I_ thought you'd fit in perfectly here. Seems I was right."

"So…he talked about me?" Olivia smiled, brightly. "The whole time? How long did he visit?"

"The whole day," Martha smiled, stepping toward her to take her right hand in both of hers, looking into her bright, jade eyes. "He spoke very fondly of you, Olivia. I could see it in his eyes…he loves you very much. And leaving you made him cry those silent tears I've seen him shed far too many times. It was hard for him, I saw it."

"Silent tears?" Olivia repeated with a frown of wonder, glancing between Martha and Jack as they glanced to each other.

"You haven't seen them yet," Martha realized. "He doesn't show his emotions readily, as I'm sure you know."

"Oh, I know," Olivia smirked with a small nod. "I'm sure he told you about my little 'Memory Lapse' in Medieval England to get him to admit how he felt about me."

Martha couldn't help but laugh and nod as Jack frowned between them.

"I'm missing something," Jack guessed, glancing between them before looking to Olivia. "You had a memory lapse?"

"I faked it," she replied with a proud smile, making Jack nod hugely in understanding.

"That sounds _just_ like you, Nova," he smiled, charmingly making her give him a comical sideways glare before she looked back to Martha.

"So, Martha, if you're UNIT, what brings you here?" she smiled, brightly.

"I'll be helping out while you're on holiday," Martha smiled back. "Don't know what for. They never needed my help when they were short handed before."

"Alright, Martha, you caught me," Jack replied, holding up his hands in surrender, making both girls frown at him in wonder. "I called you here because I missed you. I wanna see your gorgeous face every day that _this_ gorgeous face is gone."

"Still the charmer," Martha smirked, shaking her head in hopelessness.

"The charmer _you_ kissed," Jack reminded her.

"What?!" Olivia squeaked, staring wide eyes at Martha who seemed to be blushing as she looked away.

"Everyone _else_ had a go," Martha muttered.

"What?!" Olivia squeaked again, glancing between the two and Jack smirked, smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So the charm _works_ ," Jack smirked.

" _What_?!" Olivia drawled.

"Oh, don't act like you never wanted some sugar from these lips," Jack murmured into her ear, making her turn a glare at him. She didn't dare admit it to _that_ smug face.

"Enough of _you_ ," Olivia grumbled, lifting her good arm to shove his face away and he laughed as he stood from sitting next to her when she looked to Martha. "I hope you can handle Captain Hot Pants as well as I can while I'm gone."

"I think I'll manage," Martha laughed. "And when you get back we'll tell you all about the Year That Never Was and all about my travels with the Doctor."

"Sounds like a plan," Olivia grinned. "I've been _dying_ to hear about all of it."

* * *

 _Evening..._

"Jack, put me down," Olivia ordered, unexcitedly as Jack carried her over the threshold of her flat, bridal style with a grin on his face. "I'm not your bride and I _don't_ need to be carried. I can walk just fine."

"No, no, no," Jack chided, kicking the door shut with his foot as she sighed, bowing her head in defeat as he walked her to her bedroom, grinning, "Martha said _I_ have to take care of you. And, really, Ianto should be taking care of you. He's better at it, but _I_ said you'd trust me to take care of you since we all see the same Doctor."

"Oh, that's hilarious, Harkness," she blurted. "I would rather have Ianto take care of me, actually. At least I know he won't hit on me every five minutes."

"He can take care of you tomorrow," Jack replied, setting her on her bed, gently. "Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"Pizza," she sighed, resting back on her pillow as he pulled off her shoes and she frowned down at him. "While I appreciate being pampered, I can manage to undress myself, Captain."

"Well, we can't just assume these things, can we?" he smirked up at her and she rolled her eyes before he stood and strode toward the living room. "I'll be staying here tonight."

"Harkness—!"

"I'll sleep on the couch, Nova," he assured her, making her sigh in relief before lowering her head back onto her pillow with a smile. "I've got some of those lovely pain killers Martha uses. What kind of tea do you want?"

"I don't want tea," Olivia muttered to herself before chuckling, "I could go for a tomato shot right about now, though."

"Did I just hear you say tomato shot?" Jack asked from the kitchen, making Olivia's chuckle turn to a full on laugh that made Jack come back and peek his head in the door. "What are you high on, where's your stash and where can I get some for myself?"

"The _only_ time I've had alcohol was when the Doctor took me to Barcelona," she laughed, calming her laughter as she looked to Jack who had shed his coat and he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning sideways on the frame of the door, smiling warmly at her. "It was a few days before my eighteenth birthday. He took me to the festival they have there. The famous one."

"Oh, I know," Jack nodded with a smirk. "I've been."

"Bet you have," Olivia smirked back before looking up at the ceiling and continuing her story. "Anyway, I bought this cute little dress for the festival and he got us a room for the morning after. He took me to a balcony to watch the sunset before we went dancing. I got him to tango, even though it was a complete joke, but he did it. Then he took me to the bar and ordered tomato shots for us. My first shot. He was my first for a lot of things."

"Ooh, do tell," Jack smirked, shoving off the frame to stroll into the room and sit next to her on the edge of her mattress. "Was it everything you thought it would be?"

"Shut up, Jack," she muttered, glaring at him as he sat. "My virtue is still intact. I wasn't even thinking about that when we were traveling. I just wanted…"

Jack frowned when she trailed off and shifted to place his hand on hers where it sat on her stomach. He watched her carefully as she shut her eyes, still facing the ceiling and he felt his heart clench as he saw a tear fall from her eye and down her face, into her hair.

"I just wanted to stay in that stupid blue box with him forever," she shuddered, making his grip on her hand tighten as he tried to comfort her and she looked to him. "Do you know why he left me, Jack? He said I had to grow up. But…I was already grown up. I was grown up enough to realize how much I loved him. Isn't love a grown up feeling? It's so damn complicated it ought to be, if it's not."

"Your perception of grown up and _his_ perception of grown up are two different things, Nova," Jack crooned. "He meant you needed to see the world here a bit more before you went playing with him again. His life is so surreal that once you get back here, stuck on Earth, all of it seems like a dream that you wanna go back to. Trust me, I know. You _know_ I understand."

"But that's different, Jack," Olivia sighed. "I _love_ him."

"So do I."

Olivia gave a frown and guessed he meant he loved him as a friend then corrected, "No, Jack, I'm _in_ love with him."

"So am I, Olivia," he replied, making her frown return as she stared at him in disbelief. She struggled to sit up, Jack helping her as she still stared at him and he frowned at her wide-eyed stare.

"You…You are?" she finally sputtered and he only nodded as if it were nothing as she glanced away from him, trying to process it before looking back at him. "For how long?"

"Since Satellite Five," he shrugged, making her eyes shoot wider at him.

"That's over a hundred years for you!" she nearly squeaked. "Does he know?!"

"Of course he does," Jack laughed. "He's the Doctor, Nova."

"Well, yeah, but…I mean…he can be clueless about certain things, ya know?"

"Well, if that kiss wasn't a tip-off, I dunno what the hell could be."

" _You kissed him_?! Damn, Captain Hot Pants! Who the hell _haven't_ you kissed?!"

"You," Jack smirked, leaning slowly toward her, making her sneer and shove him back with her good arm, causing him to laugh as he leaned back again.

"So…he just has that effect on everyone?" she guessed, timidly as he calmed his laughter.

"Well not _everybody_ ," Jack admitted. "Jackie Tyler…Rose's mom certainly didn't fall for him. Neither did Donna Noble. She was with him before you. Nice woman."

"What about Rose?" Olivia asked, a little too quickly and Jack couldn't help but smirk before answering.

"She did," Jack nodded, unable to lie to her. It wouldn't have been fair. He instantly regretted telling her the truth when she nodded slightly, bowing her head. "Olivia…she's in a parallel universe with a _human_ version of him. You don't have to worry about…competition if that's what you're—"

"Don't I?" she cut in, lifting her gaze to him again. "He loved her, didn't he? I'm still in competition with his _memory_ of her. And what about Martha? _She's_ still here. Why isn't she still traveling with him?"

"She left him because—" Jack cut himself off, knowing he was about to prove her theory right, but she guessed it by the look in his eye.

"Because he was pining over Rose, right?!" she snapped, making Jack wince at her tone. "She fell for him, didn't she?! But he was too busy thinking about Rose, Rose, Rose that he didn't even _see_ her! Not _really_! Am I right?!"

"Yes, but you don't understand, Nova," Jack tried, gently. "Rose was _taken_ from him the first time. He told me the story. When they were at Torchwood One in London, he sent her to the parallel universe to keep her safe, but she came back. She refused to leave him. But when the Void was sucking up the Cybermen and the Daleks, she was being pulled in too, and her father jumped parallel worlds and saved her. She was supposed to stay with him."

"Wait…the _first_ time?" she frowned, making Jack sigh in exasperation at himself. "There was a _second_ time?"

"You said you read about the times the Doctor and Torchwood crossed paths," he recalled. "The second time, was more like…a reunion. All of us came together to fight the Daleks the day the Earth was stolen. She was there but he left her with his duplicate in the parallel universe. _He_ left her there."

"Jack, you're going too fast," she sighed, lifting her hand from his to rub her eyes. "That's the second time you talked about this double of him. What the hell went on there?"

"A lot," Jack admitted before gently taking her wrist into his hand to bring her gaze to his. "But you're missing the point, Olivia. You have _no_ competition. He loves you. Martha saw it, remember?"

"Then why hasn't he called or visited like he said he would?" Olivia shuddered before swallowing, a tear falling down her cheek. "Doesn't he know…I miss him?"

"Maybe something's happened?" Jack mused. "You know how things are with him. Something always comes up."

"For three years?" she breathed before lowering her head onto his shoulder. "Three years, Jack. I know you've waited longer, but I'm not immortal. I can't keep these good looks like you can. I don't have the patience either."

"The Doctor's worth the wait," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her, gently. "Everybody knows that."

"Yeah," she sighed before lifting her head and meeting his gaze, adding, "Now…about this human duplicate thing…"

"It's a long story," he chuckled.

"Like we don't have time?" she retorted, making him laugh and nod in agreement.

* * *

 _Midnight..._

"I can't believe…I really _didn't_ know him," Olivia murmured as she sat in her bed, a tray in her lap which she shared with Jack for a table as they ate their pizza. "He never told me _any_ of that. I mean, he told me about Gallifrey and that he had a family before the Time War, but…I never knew about his other companions."

"Not that he would've said a lot if you asked, right?" Jack smirked, making her give a nod of agreement. "Look, Nova, none of that matters now. All that matters is that he loves you and he's coming back to you, even if it seems like he's taking the long way around."

"I'm pretty sure _I'm_ the one taking the long way, Jack," she retorted, popping the last bite of pizza crust into her mouth.

"Yeah, so was I," he shot back through a mouthful of pizza, making her smirk as he lifted her tray and stood from the bed. "Alright. Time to sleep. Got any sheets for the couch?"

"Not yet," she sighed, trying to pull off her jacket. "I haven't had much time to shop for spare things, just the necessities."

"Alright," Jack sighed, dramatically as he headed toward the kitchen. "I'll just have to settle. Take a pill."

"Trying," she growled, softly as she tried tugging her arm from one sleeve.

Jack came back with a glass of water and smirked as he set the glass down on her nightstand and sat next to her, smiling, "Here, let me help."

"Thanks," she sighed, tiredly. "I'm so sick of being an invalid already. Can I take my arm out of this ridiculous sling?"

"Alright, but Martha said you have to wear it when you sleep," he reminded her, helping her out of the sling and her jacket. He was about to pull her shirt over her head but Olivia smacked his hands away from her with her free hand, making him frown at her as she glared at him. "Oh, come on, Nova. I'm not gonna try anything while you're _injured_. I'm not _that_ bad, contrary to what the Doctor may say."

"I can get my shirt and pants off just fine," she retorted. "My arm isn't _that_ bad, and neither is my ankle."

"Really?" he smirked again. "Is that why I just had to help you out of your jacket and your sling?"

"That's _all_ I—Ow!" Olivia cringed, placing her hand on her still healing shoulder as pain shot through it.

"Take your pain killer," Jack instructed, trying to help her take her shirt off. "It'll help you sleep, too."

"Fine, help me," she muttered. "But you get frisky and I'm using the Stun Gun."

"Promise?" he smirked, making her give him a blank stare before they managed to pull her shirt off over her head, and Jack tossed it into the hamper next to her door. "Where're your PJs?"

"Top drawer of the dresser," Olivia replied, holding her uninjured arm over her and her other arm up as much as she could, trying to hide her blush at wearing nothing on top but her bra.

"What are you hiding from _me_ for?" Jack smirked as he stood and headed toward her dresser. "We had hidden cameras in your room and _I_ got to review some of the surveillance recordings."

"How the _hell_ did you get hidden cameras into my room, Harkness?" Olivia ground out in anger as she watched Jack rummage through her dresser drawer.

"Martha got Arlene to help out with that," he replied, tossing a shirt over his shoulder, which she caught with her good arm. "Some of those little knick knacks she sent you as gifts had little cameras inside."

"Remind me to toss 'em when I go home," she muttered, slowly pulling on her pajama top as Jack still searched for the bottoms.

"We shut 'em down once I made contact with you," he assured her, but she still glared at the back of his head until he turned and handed her the pants to her pajamas. "Need help with—?"

"No," she cut in firmly, making him chuckle before turning to head into the living room. "Don't leave a mess in there, ok?! And no girls over! Or guys! Ianto can come but no shagging on my couch!"

"Well if he can come then—!"

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence, Captain Hot Pants!"

The flat echoed with Jack's laughter as Olivia managed to change, taking her pain killer and shutting her light off before lying in her bed. She stared into the darkness for a moment before the familiar loneliness she always felt at night crept into her heart and she gave a sigh.

"Jack?" she called, like a child calling for their older sibling. "Are you asleep?"

"Not yet," he called back. "What's wrong?"

She gave a sharp sigh through her nose as she stared at her ceiling before closing her eyes and finally calling, "Could you…? I mean, I'm kinda—"

She cut herself off with a gasp when she felt the bed sink to her left and her eyes shot open to see Jack sitting near her legs in his white t-shirt and a pair of boxers.

"You're lonely, huh?" he guessed and all she could do was nod, making him smile before he carefully settled down next to her. He felt her stiffen when he hugged her around her waist, making him smirk before he assured her, "No monkey business, Nova, I promise. Can't take advantage of an injured woman, can I?"

"You could," she argued, gently. "And end up injured along with her."

"Not tonight," he smiled, snuggling up to her as if she were a pillow and making her giggle before she sighed, still smiling. "Good night, Olivia."

"Good night, Jack," she murmured, drifting to sleep.

" _Good night, Theta, wherever you are. I love you_ ," she thought, hoping that he could hear her somehow, and just before she drifted into dream land she could've sworn she'd heard someone say something in his voice…in her Doctor's voice.

" _Good night, sweet Liv. Love you too_."

* * *

 **A/N:** no hanky panky with Liv and Jack. reviews?


	13. One Week

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 12: One Week**_

Olivia smiled at the feeling of déjà vu as she pulled her suitcase from her closet, reminded of the first time she'd ever pulled it from her closet.

The first time she'd went traveling with the Doctor.

A mixture of nostalgia and sorrow filled her heart. The memories were pleasant and made her smile as soon as they came to mind. But as she packed to go back to California just for the week, she remembered why she was in Cardiff. Why he'd left her…and wishing he would return soon.

 _Why did I have to fall in love with a man burdened with time and space?_ she thought, tossing a pair of pajamas into the case. _Of all the people in all the universe I fall for the last Time Lord._

"Olivia?"

She turned with a wide-eyed stare to see Martha standing in the doorway to her bedroom, her purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Hey, Martha," Olivia smiled. "What brings you here?"

"I thought I'd make a house call," Martha smiled back, her eyes glancing around the room before looking back to Olivia. "Packing for the week?"

"Yup," Olivia nodded, turning back to continue packing. "I know you're gonna tell me I shouldn't be doing this myself, but after having Jack look after me for the past couple days, I'm done being coddled."

"I don't blame you," Martha chuckled, heading toward the bed to sit next to the case. "That's another reason I came."

Olivia stilled and frowned at the doctor as she asked, "What is?"

Martha pulled her purse from her shoulder to set it on the bed and Olivia could tell she was stalling.

"Jack told me you talk in your sleep sometimes," Martha finally explained, making Olivia give a quiet sigh before turning back to packing.

"Can't trust him with _anything_ ," she grumbled before turning to her dresser. "Did he share any other nightly habits of mine?"

"He's just worried about you," Martha reported. "He hears you call for the Doctor in your sleep. He just thought you needed someone to talk to."

"I've got people to talk to, he knows that," Olivia retorted, shoving a few folded clothes into the case. "I've got mom, Aaron, Jack and even Ianto and Gwen. I'm _surrounded_ by people to talk to."

"I doubt your mum, Aaron, Gwen or Ianto fell in love with him like the three of us," Martha retorted through a smirk, making Olivia sigh, tiredly.

"True," she nodded, sitting next to Martha and placing her hands in her lap to twiddle her thumbs. "And he may be a Time Lord…the _last_ Time Lord, burdened with all of time and space and more than nine hundred years old…but he's still a man. As complex and as simple and in need of the same things you and I are. Food, water and air and most importantly…companionship. That's all he's been searching for, and now more than ever _because_ he's the last. I don't need someone to talk to, Martha…I just need and _want_ to know that he's ok. None of you can give me that. I worry he won't come back and I worry that he's traveling alone, with no one there to chase away his loneliness and bittersweet memories of home."

Martha gave a nod of understanding and set a hand over both of Olivia's, making the green-eyed girl shoot her gaze to Martha's.

"I understand," she nodded, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. "I worry about him too. All the time. Even now. But when he talked to me about you…I felt some of that worry lift. He loves you, Olivia. He'll come back and he'll be alright."

Olivia swallowed as she felt tears come to her eyes before nodding and Martha gave a reassuring smile before patting her hands and standing.

"Shall I help you pack?" Martha wondered but Olivia shook her head with a sniffle, quickly wiping away a tear from one of her cheeks that had escaped her eye.

"I'm pretty much done," Olivia replied, glancing to her suitcase next to her then looking back to Martha. "It's only a week. You promise we'll talk when I get back before you leave?"

"Of course," Martha nodded, still smiling. "Just out of curiosity, how much do you know so far?"

"Well, the Doctor told me about Gallifrey…and his family," Olivia replied, her tone solemn at first before she continued, "And Jack told me about how _he_ met the Doctor and…" She couldn't help but sneer as she sighed, "…Rose."

"I feel the same way about her," Martha assured her with a smirk, making Olivia scoff back.

"Anyway," Olivia continued, "he told me about his adventures and how he became immortal, but that was it…that he went into detail about, anyway."

"Alright then," Martha nodded with a grin before asking, "Tea?"

"I'd love some," Olivia nodded as well, standing to head with her to the kitchen. "I need to rest my ankle and arm a bit."

* * *

 _Cardiff Airport..._

"First class?!" Olivia squeaked as she stared at her ticket that Jack had printed out before turning wide eyes at Jack as he stood in front of her. "You're putting me in _first class_?!"

"I told them about your injuries and they'll take good care of you," Jack nodded. "First class, round trip."

"Jack—"

"Don't argue with me about this, Nova," he scolded, placing his hands on her shoulders to look her in the eye. "Just take it and be careful when you get to California, ok? I promise this will be the last first class ticket you ever get…unless you injure yourself again before you leave."

Olivia sighed and nodded before Jack pulled her into a tight hug.

"Jack—!" she strained under his embrace. "It's only a week! I can't breathe!"

"Sorry," he replied, instantly letting her go and she dramatically took in a breath making them smirk at each other as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's just…you're part of the team and…well you kinda remind me of Alice."

"Who's Alice?" she wondered, tucking her itinerary into her back pocket with her passport and ID.

"She's…my daughter," he muttered, making Olivia's eyes shoot wide at him in disbelief but he caught the glow in her eye and instantly added, "I'll tell you about her later. You're gonna miss your flight."

Olivia gave him a comical glare before nodding, but added, "I'm sure I'll like her."

"I'm sure you will, too," Jack nodded as she picked up her case and turned to head toward her gate, waving to him over her shoulder as she did.

He waved back at her before his com beeped in his ear and he tapped it as he turned to head back out the doors and toward the waiting SUV with Ianto in the driver's seat as he said, "Yeah, Gwen?"

" _Rift activity, just north of you, Jack_ ," Gwen replied in his ear as he climbed into the SUV.

"We're on our way," he replied, pulling on his seatbelt and Ianto pulled into the streets of Cardiff.

* * *

 _One Week Later..._

"Ianto, go around the alley! Cut him off!" Jack shouted as he and Gwen scrambled out of the SUV to bolt down the alley before Ianto sped off to obey his order.

"What's he got?!" Gwen questioned as she and Jack ran after a little figure running down the alley.

"Doesn't matter! Just get him!" Jack shot back, both still running and they saw the SUV stop on the other side of the alley, making Jack laugh, breathlessly. "Gotta love Ianto's punctuality. _Stop_!"

The little figure stopped in the middle of the alley and turned to them, revealing its scaly peach colored skin, three tentacle-like appendages dangling from the back of his head, white eyes, sharp teeth and dressed all in black, holding something in his hand.

"Drop it and raise your hands!" Jack shouted at it as he drew his gun and aimed at it, Gwen stopping next to him and doing the same, Ianto climbing out of the car on the other side of the alley and drawing his gun as well. "Drop it!"

The half-pint alien didn't move, making Jack sigh and roll his eyes, impatiently.

"This is why I _hate_ Graskes!" he growled, holstering his gun, then telling Gwen, "Keep it covered. I don't know what else he took."

"Oh, for God's sake!"

All eyes shot behind Ianto as footsteps sounded against the concrete of the street and a familiar face stepped up next to Ianto.

"You guys can't function without me, can you?" Olivia smirked, marching toward the Graske.

"Olivia, don't—!" Jack snapped, but she ignored him as she stepped directly in front of the Graske and held out one hand, the other resting on her hip.

"Hand it over," she demanded impatiently, making the Graske look up at her in wonder, but she stared back expectantly. "Come on. I know what it is and you don't need it. We'll get you home."

The Graske glanced around from her, to Jack and Gwen, then to Ianto, then back to Olivia before he slapped the thing into her hand and she nodded in approval.

"That's better," Olivia nodded. "Now come with me and I'll get you back to where the rift opened and left you here and it'll get you home."

"Uh…Olivia?" Jack called as she headed toward him, taking the Graske's hand so he could follow her and Jack frowned, "What are you doing?"

"'Welcome back, Supernova!'" Olivia grinned falsely, stopping in front of Jack. "'How was your week in California?! Thanks for getting my vortex manipulator back!'" She slapped the thing into his hand before placing her hand on her hip. "You're welcome, by the way."

"I had it under control," Jack nearly pouted, buckling the manipulator onto his wrist and Gwen scoffed, holstering her gun, making Jack turn a narrowed glare at her.

"Right, 'cause if you yelled loud enough he was gonna give your manipulator back, right?" Olivia smirked as Gwen waved to Ianto to get back in the car and Olivia gestured to one of the rooftops near them, explaining, "I'm taking him up there. The rift is gonna open back up in a few minutes. Wait for me down here? Thanks."

"You got bossy, didn't you?" Jack observed as Olivia walked the Graske down the alley without responding. Jack frowned at her back but turned to Gwen and said, "You and Ianto get everything ready back at the Hub. I'll walk her back."

"She seemed irritated, yeah?" Gwen noticed with a frown at Jack.

"It was the flight," he assured her. "She was like that when we first got here. Jetlag. Don't take it personal. Once she gets to the Hub she'll be fine."

* * *

 _Cardiff Bay..._

"Why the hell are we walking?" Olivia muttered, rubbing her hands over her arms from the cold as Jack strolled next to her as they headed for the Invisible Lift at the base of the water tower. "I thought Ianto had the SUV."

"He had to get Gwen back here to do some work," Jack replied, casually as he shrugged off his coat and settled it over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she murmured, pulling it tightly around her.

"So how was Disneyland?" he asked, lifting an arm to wrap it around her, and she didn't object only because it was so cold. "Did your mom and Aaron have fun?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Aaron got ears. He's so ridiculous. He got this tiny clip-on thing that wouldn't even stay in his hair, and when he finally got them on, he had to keep taking them out to get on the rides."

"At least he got ears," Jack grinned, gesturing toward the Invisible Lift. "We'll take the Lift."

"What for?" Olivia frowned in wonder as he took her hand to help her onto it.

"Change of scenery?" Jack smirked, charmingly as he stepped up next to her and used the manipulator to lower the lift as she glared at him sideways.

"What are you up to, Harkness?" she asked as the Lift began its descent. "I'm not in the mood for your shenanigans."

"Shenanigans?" Jack smirked in amusement this time. "Seriously, Nova?"

"Seriously," Olivia nodded, but frowned when she realized they were descending into a dark Hub.

"That's too bad," Jack sighed as she reached for her Stun Gun tucked into her belt in alarm, but he slung an arm over her shoulders when the block came to a stop. "'Cause this was a good one."

" _Surprise_!"

Olivia's eyes shot wide before cringing at the sudden blast of light that filled the Hub when the lights came back on as everyone shouted at once.

"Is this why I didn't get a ride from the airport?" Olivia wondered, unable to keep herself from smiling as Jack stepped down off the block and lifted a hand up to help her down.

"Pretty much," he smirked back as she took his hand and stepped down from the block. "You like surprises, right?"

"Love 'em," she smiled as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and led her toward Gwen, Ianto and Martha down the ramp, holding a box between the three of them.

"Welcome back!" Gwen grinned, widely before opening the box to show off several cupcakes that spelled 'Nova.'

"Thanks guys!" she grinned, reaching into the box to take a cupcake from the O and pulling her hand from Jack's arm to peel the paper. "I hope Jack wasn't too much of a handful while I was gone, was he Martha?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Martha smiled, stepping toward her and wrapping her arm around Olivia's shoulders. "How's the ankle?"

"Fine," Olivia nodded. "Better than fine. So's my arm."

"Good," Martha nodded as Olivia bit into her cupcake and the others began taking some for themselves as well.

"How was Disneyland?" Ianto wondered, taking the box from Gwen to walk it toward the conference room as the others followed.

Olivia began telling them stories about her week in California. How staying with her mother in such a confined space drove her nuts and how hers and Aaron's constant fussing over her injuries drove her up the walls as well. Jack watched her intently as they all laughed and joked and she told her stories, but he could tell something was bothering her. He wanted to ask now, but he knew he'd have to wait until later. She'd never discuss anything in front of the others.

* * *

 _Afternoon.._

"Alright, Supernova," Jack said, leaning next to Olivia on her desk as she looked up at him from her work on the computer screen. "Spill."

"Huh?" Olivia frowned in wonder.

"Something's bothering you," he elaborated. "What's wrong?"

Olivia sighed in defeat before glancing toward Gwen, knowing Ianto was helping Martha with something in the med-bay, then looked back to Jack.

"It's my mom," she began through a sigh. "We got into it…a _lot_ over a couple things."

"Your injuries?" he guessed and she nodded.

"She thinks this job is too dangerous, which it is, but I can't have a desk job. Anything too safe and I'll go nuts."

"I believe that," he chuckled. "What else did you fight about?"

"What we fought about when I was in college," she sighed, swiveling back and forth in her chair. "The Doctor. More specifically my waiting for him. I asked if he'd been there looking for me, and she said he hadn't, then proceeded to tell me about the guy that checks her gas meter for her block. He's young, he's cute, he's got a good job…blah, blah, blah."

"She's trying to set you up?!" he laughed, heartily.

"She's _been_ trying to since the Doctor left. Aaron knows better than to try that with me, but mom says she's 'looking out for me.' She wants me to be a housewife."

Jack burst into laughter as Olivia made a face, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Can't picture it," Gwen chimed in, not looking away from her work.

"Me neither," Jack chuckled, calming his laughter. "What'd you do?"

"Hashed it out and walked away," Olivia shrugged. "We had a bigger fight before that."

"Man! Was she in a mood?"

"Hell if _I_ know. She's got into this religion kick."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah. Somebody from the Christian church down her street went by promoting its grand opening. She dragged Aaron with her and now she's got the bug."

"And she's trying to save your soul?" Jack smirked.

"Very much so. She says that with all the stuff I face every day, my soul _needs_ saving."

"And what do _you_ think?"

Olivia frowned in thought before looking to her secret project on the computer screen in front of her.

"All my faith is in the Doctor," she finally replied. "He's all I need."

"I take it your mom didn't like _that_ answer."

"That led to the fight on me waiting for him. She doesn't understand what I mean by it. I'm not opposed to religion. She can bible-thump all she wants. It's just not for me."

"How's Aaron feel on it?"

"Aaron is Aaron," Olivia shrugged. "He's up for anything."

A familiar beeping came from Gwen's computer before she announced, "Rift activity."

"Where?" Jack called as he rushed to his office for his coat.

"The church in Llandaff," Gwen replied as Ianto and Martha hurried toward the computer. "St Mary's."

"Send the directions to the SUV's GPS," Jack ordered, shrugging on his coat as Olivia stood from her chair. "Gwen and Ianto, with me. Olivia and Martha, hold down the fort."

"Hang on!" Olivia called, following him as Gwen and Ianto went toward the door and Jack stopped to turn and look at her. "I'm going with you."

"Doctor Jones," Jack called, looking over Olivia's head at Martha who looked up from the computer as Olivia looked to her as well. "Diagnosis on Miss Felton?"

"Clean bill of health from my examination earlier," Martha grinned. "I can hold the fort while you're gone."

Olivia turned to Jack with a bright smile to which he rolled his eyes in false exasperation.

"Alright, come on," he permitted, waving her to follow him and she turned to Martha with two thumbs up, still grinning, which Martha returned.

"You owe me some stories when I get back, Martha Jones!" she added before turning to hurry after Jack, Ianto and Gwen.

"When you get back!" Martha promised before Olivia ran past the bar door and into the lift with the other three.

"So…a church," Jack smirked.

"Yeah, I get the irony," Olivia shot back.

"Think it's the second coming?" he wondered, mockingly.

"Second coming of my foot up your ass, Captain Eye Candy," she shot back.

"Welcome back, Olivia," Ianto smirked.

"Glad to have ya back," Gwen smiled, brightly.

"It's good to _be_ back," Olivia grinned at all three of them.

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


	14. The Second Coming

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 13: The Second Coming**_

"I don't see anything," Olivia announced, climbing out of the SUV to survey the church they were parked in front of.

"That's when you keep your guard up," Jack warned, stepping up next to her. "Everyone fan out."

Olivia felt strange as Jack left her side to search the area, Ianto stepping past her as well and Gwen scanned the area with her handheld.

"Something's not right," Olivia whispered to herself, glancing around at the three and their surroundings.

"I'm getting a reading over here!" Gwen reported, hovering her handheld over a cellar door leading below the church.

 _Olivia watched Gwen attempt to open the door, but before she could grip the handle, the door blew open, throwing her back with such force that she hit a tree and slid to the ground, unconscious_.

Olivia gasped as if the wind had been knocked out of her before her gaze shot to Gwen…attempting to open the cellar door.

"Gwen! Get outta the way!" Olivia shouted as she ran toward her and tackled her to the ground beside the cellar door just as it blew open.

"Olivia! Gwen!" Jack called as he and Ianto ran toward them. "You alright?!"

"Fine," Gwen called back as both girls groaned, sitting up side by side, Ianto kneeling next to them to examine them, Jack looking into the cellar.

"Jack, be careful," Olivia warned, watching him inch toward the entrance with his gun drawn.

"Hello!" he called into the cellar. "Look, whatever or whoever you are, we mean you no harm! We just wanna talk!"

Gwen and Olivia stood, dusting themselves off as Ianto drew his sidearm as well and stepped on the opposite side of the cellar door, facing Jack. Olivia drew her Stun Gun as Gwen drew her gun as well, all of them looked into the cellar, catching the sound of shuffling.

"Come on out slowly," Jack called as all eyes stayed on the cellar, but Olivia inched closer to Jack as they heard more shuffling and creaking of the stairs as whatever it was inside climbed out of the dark cellar.

"Jack, we should _really_ be careful with this one," she warned.

"Holy, Christ," Gwen breathed as the being in the cellar revealed himself and everyone stared at him with wide eyes. The man stopped at the top of the stairs in the daylight, stark naked with shoulder length black hair, a full beard and piercing green eyes.

"Is that…?" Ianto trailed off with a frown, quickly lowering his gun as Gwen holstered hers, as did Jack with his.

"I think…it is," Jack replied as the man looked between all of them, something serene about his gaze until it landed on Olivia and she gripped her Stun Gun tightly, unnerved by the stare.

"Excuse me," Jack called, stepping close to him and he looked to Jack when he stopped next to him, gesturing to his hand and asking, "May I?"

Without a word the nameless man lifted his hand and held it toward Jack who gently took it, examining it. There was a hole in his hand, right in the center, and when Jack looked at his other hand he found the same thing. He looked down at his feet to find holes in them as well before he brought his gaze back to the man's.

"Olivia," Jack called over his shoulder, not taking his gaze from the man. "You know how I was joking earlier that this was the second coming?"

"Yeah," Olivia drawled, cautiously.

"Turns out…I was right."

"I knew you blasphemed all the time, but this is taking it a bit far, Jack," Olivia shot back.

"I'm dead serious, Olivia."

"Are you telling me that this is—?"

"Jesus Christ!" Ianto shouted, shoving Gwen to the ground when a fireball fell from the sky, dodging it and Olivia and Jack fell to the ground when it shook as the meteor landed nearby, close enough to kick up dust around them.

"What the hell was that?!" Olivia shouted, coughing from the dust and looked up with wide eyes when the man stepped in front of her, holding a hand toward her to help her up.

She glanced at his hand but didn't take it as she stood by herself, dusting herself off and staring at him before she trudged off to find the others.

"Jack!" she called. "Ianto! Gwen! Where are you?!"

"Over here!" Jack called as the dust settled and she made her way toward him.

Olivia shouted in surprise when the ground suddenly disappeared from under her feet and she fell on her rear, sliding down a slope of dirt until her feet hit something at the bottom with a metal clang. She looked up at the sphere sticking out from the ground and when she heard a familiar hiss coming from it, she realized it wasn't a meteor as they all thought. She watched as the hatch of the ship opened and revealed a huge, reptile-like alien covered in armor except its head. It took in its surroundings, looking like a snake as it moved its head from side to side, until its eyes landed on her. She remained still when it lifted its fist toward her, and she noticed something small attached to the wristband it wore. A red laser scanned her from head to toe before he pulled it back to look at his wrist.

"Earth human," it hissed, making her swallow as it climbed out of the ship and stepped next to her. "But you've seen more than just the Earth, haven't you, little one?"

"Olivia!" Jack called from the distance, but she kept her eyes locked on the thing in front of her.

"You will help me," it said. "Find the one that came here before me, help me capture him, and I will leave you in peace."

"The one that came…? He's up there!" Olivia told him. "I knew there was something off about him! If you hurry you can still get him!"

"No, you must help me," it replied, looking to the edge of the crater before disappearing, making Olivia frown in wonder.

"Olivia!" Gwen called, making her look to the edge of the crater as well to see the three of them standing there, examining the ship.

"Do not tell them of me," the reptile alien hissed from somewhere under his invisible cloak. "I will find you again, Olivia Felton."

"Who are you?" Olivia murmured, standing and looking around, trying to find him.

"My name is Jag," he hissed from somewhere.

"What is this, a ship?" Jack guessed, suddenly right next to her and she looked up at him in surprise before looking to the ship again.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Looks like."

"Anything inside?"

Olivia waited a moment before replying, "Not that I saw. Where'd Ianto and Gwen go?"

"Getting the naked wonder into the SUV," Jack answered, watching her carefully. "You _sure_ nothing came out of that thing? It's open."

"It was open when I fell down here," she lied again, knowing Jack could see right through her even though she was being casual, but she wasn't sure if she could trust him, or any of them, with this. She meant no harm, but there was no telling what Jack and the others would do to a reptilian alien that looked like a warlord. "What are we doing with the Jesus doppelganger?"

"Taking him to the hub," Jack replied, turning to trudge up the crater. "We'll lock him in the vaults and come back to examine this thing."

"I don't think taking him to the Hub is such a good idea, Jack," Olivia voiced, following him up the slope. "He may look like the Almighty's son but I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

"Not your call, is it?" he shot back when they reached the top, making her frown up at him.

"What's _your_ problem, Harkness?" she snapped.

"You're lying to me, Felton, _that's_ my problem," he shot back, not bothering to help her climb out of the crater.

"Alright, so I'm lying to you, but can you _please_ trust me on this?" she requested, following him as he continued on toward the SUV. "Look, there's something about this guy. I don't know what it is, but… Jack! Would you stop and _look_ at me?!"

"Trust you, when you lie to me?" he snarled, whirling around on her. "You may have been able to pull this crap with the Doctor, but _I_ won't stand for it!"

Olivia frowned in wonder at him before asking, "Jack, what's the matter? This isn't like you?"

"Get in the car, Olivia," Jack ordered before turning again and marching toward the SUV where Gwen and Ianto waited for them with the unknown man in the back.

She climbed into the back with Gwen, Ianto in the driver's seat and Jack in the passenger seat. She glanced back at the man in the very back of the SUV sitting quietly, covered in Jack's military coat.

"What took you so long?" Ianto questioned Jack irritably, making Olivia turn a frown at him in wonder.

"I had to get Olivia out of that crater, didn't I?!" Jack shot back.

"Next time, Olivia, don't go bargin' in without us," Gwen snapped at Olivia, making her frown turn to the other woman in absolute disbelief.

"One of you tell Martha we're on our way back," Jack ordered as Ianto began driving back to the Hub.

"Why can't _you_ tell her yourself?" Gwen questioned.

"Because I'm the boss!" Jack shot back.

"I'll tell her," Olivia assured them, tapping her com on her ear.

"Finally, someone who _listens_!" Jack snarled.

"Martha, we're on our way back," Olivia spoke into her com. "Everything ok over there?"

" _Everything's fine here_ ," Martha replied. " _Bringing back anything interesting?_ "

"Uh…yeah," Olivia replied. "Really interesting. You'll see when we get there."

" _If_ we get there, with Ianto driving like an old lady!" Jack snapped.

" _You_ wanna drive?!" Ianto shot back.

" _What's going on with those two?_ " Martha wondered.

"It's not just them, but I wish I knew," Olivia replied, glancing back at their prisoner again. "And actually…I have a pretty good idea. See you when we get there."

* * *

 _Back at the Hub..._

Jack, Ianto and Gwen marched through the cog door and barred gate, Olivia following them as she led the unknown man still wearing Jack's coat behind them. The three were bickering back at forth at each other, making Martha frown at them as they all walked in.

"What happened?" she asked Olivia who marched the man toward the vaults.

Olivia nodded to Martha to follow her without a word, afraid to say anything to send the bickering her way. Martha followed, dodging the other three as she hurried after Olivia who said nothing as she marched the man into a cell just as Martha came up next to her.

"I'll bring you some clothes," Olivia assured him as she secured the cell then met his green gaze evenly. "I don't know what you're doing to my friends, but it's gonna stop, _now_ , got it?"

"I have done nothing," he argued, calmly. "I was as you found me. Alone and defenseless."

"I highly doubt you're as defenseless as you make out to be when you _blew_ the door open," Olivia retorted.

"And how do you know it was I that opened the cellar door?" he wondered.

"Don't play games with me, you have no _idea_ who you're dealing with," Olivia shot back before turning to march out of the vaults, adding, "Come on, Martha."

Martha glanced between them before hurrying after Olivia who stopped at a closet to search for clothes.

"Who is he?" she asked as Olivia rummaged around, explaining everything that had happened, including meeting Jag.

"They think he's Jesus," Olivia finished, pulling out a pair of painter's coveralls.

"He certainly resembles him," Martha conceded. "So this Jag bloke is gonna find you again?"

"That's what he said," Olivia replied, facing her but not heading back to the vaults yet. "I didn't tell any of them about Jag. I trust you on this, Martha, especially now that they're not acting themselves. Don't hang around this guy too long, ok? Looks like he causes chaos in people."

"How come you're not acting like them? You've been around him just as long."

"The Doctor once said something about me absorbing huon energy, maybe it's protecting me…even after three years."

"You sure it wasn't from Jag's scan?"

"Maybe, but that was to find out where he was, what species inhabited the planet. Either way it looks like I'm the only one that can keep in contact with him without any…symptoms."

"You sure? You didn't seem too happy with him."

"Yeah, but my feelings are justified. This bickering they're doing is out of character. I need to find out who he really is and why he's here." Olivia marched around Martha to head back to the vaults.

"Olivia," Martha called, stopping Olivia. "What if…it's really him? What if it's him and he fell through the rift?"

"If it's him I'll personally tell my mother I was wrong about everything," Olivia replied before resuming her march toward the vaults and when she reached the cell she stepped in, shutting and locking it behind her before tossing the coveralls to him. "Put these on and give me the coat back."

Without a word he pulled the coveralls on up to his waist then stripped the coat off and stepped closer to her, holding it out to her. She placed a hand on her Stun Gun held in her belt at the small of her back, using her free hand to take the coat before he backed away and pulled the coveralls up completely.

"You don't like me," he stated as she slung Jack's coat over her shoulder.

"What was your first clue?" she shot back.

"Why?" he asked, sitting on the seat built into the wall to button the coveralls.

" _I'll_ be asking the questions," she retorted, hearing Martha's footsteps come up to the cell. "Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"If you're Christ then I'm Cleopatra, so cut the shit and answer the question."

He remained silent, making her grit her teeth in anger at his silence.

"Who are you?"

Silence.

"Where are you from?"

Silence.

"Why are you being chased?"

Silence.

"Aren't you gonna answer _any_ of my questions?"

"Only if you answer the one I asked you."

"I don't have to answer any of your questions. I'm not the one taken prisoner."

"Aren't you?"

Olivia's face fell before she turned and tried to open the door but even after she punched in the code it wouldn't budge. Her gaze met Martha's on the other side of the glass in panic before she turned to him with a glare.

"What did you do?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

"Nothing that you cannot undo," he replied.

"Martha, put the place in lockdown," she ordered.

"But, Jack—"

"Jack is compromised! Do as I say!"

Martha swallowed before darting out of the vaults and Olivia glared at him.

"Alright, she's gone," she said. "Now tell me _who you are_!"

"I am whatever you wish me to be. I know Jag will be coming for you. He warned you about me, I assume."

"And _I_ assume from your response that you're a Shapeshifter. So, why don't we cut to the chase? I've dealt with Shapeshifter's before…it didn't turn out so hot for the Shapeshifter."

Jag suddenly appeared, aiming a strange looking gun at the Shapeshifter as Olivia drew her Stun Gun, aiming it at him as well.

"You're coming with me, Svendin," Jag ordered.

"Oh, good, we have a name," Olivia smiled, sardonically. "Sorry, Jag, he's not going anywhere till he tells me what he's done to my friends."

"It's how he works, Olivia," Jag replied. "He causes discord and chaos wherever he goes."

"Why didn't it affect me?" Olivia questioned.

"You are blocking my control somehow," Svendin replied. "You have some telepathic abilities."

"Good to know," Olivia snapped back as she heard footsteps outside the cell.

"What the hell's goin' on here?!" Jack demanded.

"Release them from whatever control they're under and _maybe_ I won't let Jag shoot you," Olivia told Svendin.

A moment later Jack, Ianto and Gwen fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Martha?" Olivia called as the doctor knelt down to examine each of them.

"They're fine," she reported. "Just unconscious."

"Good," Olivia nodded, lowering her Stun Gun and tucking it in her belt again. "Now let me out and you can have him, Jag."

"Thank you, Olivia Felton," Jag nodded as Olivia turned to the door to head out.

"Don't you want to know where your Doctor is, Olivia?"

She stopped dead next to the door and Martha's head shot up as she knelt next to Gwen, watching Olivia turn back to them.

"What?" she ground out.

"Olivia, get out of there," Martha ordered, running to the glass. "He's trying to distract you. It's what he wants. Don't fall for it!"

"How do you know about the Doctor?" Olivia questioned Svendin.

"Olivia, whatever this is, let it go," Jag warned. "He knows nothing. This is what he does. He manipulates whoever he comes in contact with until he brings about their downfall. It's why I'm here. To take revenge for my own life. Walk away."

"But if he couldn't get into my head how does he know about the Doctor?" Olivia demanded.

"It doesn't matter!" Martha called. "Come on!"

"It _does_ matter, because my first run in with Shapeshifters _wasn't_ here at Torchwood," Olivia explained. "So what are you?"

Svendin only smirked, making her march toward him, stopping an inch from him.

"What…are…you?!" she shouted.

"Sylaxian!" Svendin snarled back, revealing sharp teeth and swiping at her with sharp claws but she managed to dodge it as Jag stepped between them, still aiming his gun at him to keep Svendin from advancing.

"Sylaxian, I should've known," Olivia ground out. "You were there three years ago, weren't you?! Diablo High. How did you escape?!"

"I was left behind on the ship," Svendin replied. "It took me home on auto-pilot and I was put in jail for killing the entire crew, despite what _really_ happened. The Doctor killed my people and what do I get for being the only survivor? Thrown in jail because of _you_!"

"Tough luck, buddy. Shouldn't have tried to kill the grads of Diablo High. We're a _mean_ bunch."

Svendin lunged at her, but Jag hit him across the face with his gun so hard he was knocked unconscious onto the floor.

"Nicely done, Jag," Olivia nodded. "Thanks. Get him out of our hair, won't you?"

"Gladly," Jag replied, stepping toward him to throw him over his shoulder as Olivia marched out of the cell just as the three on the floor awoke.

"What happened?" Gwen asked, rubbing her head as Martha knelt next to her, Olivia kneeling next to Ianto to help him sit up.

"Telepathic invasion," Jack guessed correctly as Olivia looked to the cell, but it was empty.

"Where's Jesus?" Ianto asked, seeing the empty cell as well.

"He wasn't Jesus," Olivia explained, handing Jack his coat. "He was a Sylaxian."

"Something else you ran into in your travels?" he guessed as they all stood slowly, Martha looking over each of them.

"Actually, they crashed my graduation," she corrected. "Ever seen them?"

"Heard of them," Jack replied, shrugging on his coat. "Never met one."

"They're another species of Shapeshifter," she explained. "They eat people. And apparently they have other telepathic abilities I knew nothing about."

"That's why you were all bickering," Martha explained. "It's a defense mechanism. Distract the group so it can make a getaway."

"And this one chose Jesus?" Gwen wondered.

"The Rift dropped it in a church," Olivia reminded her. "Maybe that was first thing it saw. A cross."

"Well, either way, it's not our problem now," Jack told them. "Martha make sure Gwen and Ianto are ok. That telepathic invasion might've left them a little fuzzy. Olivia, come with me to my office."

She frowned but followed him as he made his way out of the vaults and through the Hub to his office, shutting the door behind her.

"Look, Jack, I know I took charge, but you were compromised, and Gwen and Ianto—"

"Relax, Nova, you're not here to be reprimanded," Jack laughed, pulling off his coat to hang it.

"For once," she smirked. "So why am I here?"

"It's time I taught you how to harness that telepathic ability of yours," he replied, stepping toward her as she stood with her back to his desk. "Lesson one: Defense."

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


	15. Something in the Water

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Chapter 14: Something in the Water_**

"Girls night in," Olivia grinned, stepping toward the bar of her kitchen where Martha and Gwen sat, a glass of wine in each hand. "For once, I'm glad Jack and Ianto kicked us out for the night."

"I could use some alcohol, thank you," Gwen smiled, taking one of the glasses from Olivia, Martha taking the other with a smile of thanks.

Olivia grabbed her own glass as Martha lifted hers, grinning, "To girls night in!"

"Cheers!"

The girls clinked their glasses together before sipping.

"This is good wine," Olivia smiled, then leaned on the bar facing Martha. "Ok, list time. You tell me where he took you, what happened, and I'll tell you _my_ stories. Go."

"Hold on, I'm missing something," Gwen frowned between them as Martha smiled.

"The Doctor," Martha explained. "Listen up, Gwen. You'll get a kick out of this."

Martha started from the very beginning. From the moment he stepped in front of her and peeled off his tie, saying something that didn't make sense, to their adventure with the Weeping Angels. Gwen was riveted, and Olivia listened intently, loving how animated Martha got when relating her stories. The Doctor always brought that out in everyone.

"What was your last one?" Olivia wondered, pulling a tray of chips she'd heated from the oven and setting them on the stovetop to cool.

"The Master," Martha replied, looking into her wine as nostalgia glazed over her eyes, making Olivia frown as she tossed her potholder away on the counter. "And the Year That Never Was."

"The what?" Gwen wondered, voicing Olivia's question as she stepped toward the bar, lifting her wine to take a sip.

"A story for another time," Martha dismissed, making Olivia eye her suspiciously, but she said nothing. "What about you, Olivia? It's your turn."

Olivia told her first story while pouring their third glasses of wine each, emptying the bottle. She felt bad that she didn't have more to share, but they still laughed when she told them about the TARDIS landing in her room on prom night, Gwen still in awe as she described the places they'd been before she ended with their trip to the Medieval era, when the TARDIS had a mind of it's own to take them there.

"It all sounds amazing," Gwen grinned, taking a chip from the bowl Olivia had brought to the table. "That's when you decided to stay on Earth?"

"Well…" Olivia sighed, swirling her wine, absentmindedly, "…that wasn't exactly _my_ decision."

" _He_ left _you_?" Gwen asked, incredulously as Olivia took a sip from her glass.

"Not exactly," she replied. "It's complicated."

"Usually is with him," Martha added for Gwen. "However, for the record, it's fairly simple when it comes to you two. He's in love with you, he should be with you. I told him so myself."

Olivia nearly spewed her sip of wine as she and Gwen both gaped at her.

"You saw him?!" Gwen questioned as Olivia laughed at Martha telling him that.

"It was after he left her at her mum's," Martha explained, gesturing to Olivia. "He was surprised to find out UNIT knew what happened with the Sylaxians at her graduation."

"How'd UNIT know about that?" Gwen wondered.

"Her principle, Arlene Smith, is UNIT," Martha replied as Olivia popped a chip into her mouth, Gwen gaping at her. "She was undercover. That wasn't the first encounter at Diablo High. Anyway, Olivia, he couldn't stop talking about you. You should've seen the look on his face. Completely smitten."

"Yeah," Olivia smiled, looking to her wine again, wistfully. "I thought he was, too."

"Bloody hell," Gwen sighed, making the other two look at her in wonder when she shook her head. "I owe Jack thirty quid."

"Gwen, I'm surprised at you," Olivia smirked, false astonishment in her tone. "How dare you bet _against_ love! Aren't you a married woman?"

"Does Rhys know you're a cynic?" Martha teased as well.

"I know, I know," Gwen waved dismissively at them. "Shame on me, yeah?"

"Ok, time for a movie," Olivia announced, grabbing her wine and the bowl of chips to head for the sofa to plop in front of the telly, the girls following her.

* * *

 _The Next Morning..._

"How was girl's night in?" Jack asked Olivia, coming up behind her as she worked at her desk. She spun around in her chair to smile up at him.

"It was nice," she grinned. "We're planning a girl's night out. We'll get all dressed up and head out to a bar or something."

"Sounds fun," he nodded before something caught their eye from the stairs.

They both looked to Ianto with a frown each as he trudged toward them, a tray full of coffee mugs in his hands. His eyes looked red and swollen, along with his nose, but his skin looked far paler than usual. As he lifted a mug from the tray to set it down on Gwen's desk, his hand shook so much he almost spilled it.

"Yan, you ok?" Olivia wondered in concern as she and Jack approached him.

"I'm not feeling so good," he admitted as Olivia took the tray from him and Jack set a hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up," Jack reported before taking the other man's hand. "Come on. Let's have Martha look at you."

"What's goin' on?" Gwen wondered, watching Jack pull Ianto toward the Med Bay and Olivia approached her.

"Ianto's not feeling good," she reported before heading after the men as Martha was sitting Ianto in the chair to examine him. She stepped next to Jack, asking, "Was he sick last night?"

"No," Jack replied, baffled. "If anything, he was…energetic."

"TMI, Harkness," Olivia muttered.

"You asked," he laughed before they both looked to Martha when she turned to them. "Well?"

"Could be the flu," Martha reported, stepping toward a drawer to open it and rummage through it. "I'll need to take a few samples. Blood, urine, saliva. I want to be sure. You never know in this line of work."

"Yan, after she gets what she needs, go home," Jack ordered. "No arguments."

Ianto only nodded before gripping his stomach, wincing in pain.

"I'll drive you home, if you want," Olivia offered, but he shook his head.

"I think I'll be fine," he groaned as Martha stretched his arm out to draw blood, Jack and Olivia turning to head back to their desks.

"Drive him home," Jack murmured to her and Olivia nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay with him for a little bit to make sure he can stay alone on his own," she added, and Jack nodded. "Maybe it's just the flu?"

"I hope so," Jack sighed before heading for his office and Olivia couldn't help but smile after him, seeing his concern as a sign that he really cared for Ianto.

"Olivia," Gwen called, drawing the other woman's attention. "Come look at this."

Olivia stepped toward Gwen's desk to lean next to her as Gwen kept her eyes on the screen.

"Whatcha got?" Olivia asked.

"In the past week there've been mysterious sicknesses all over Cardiff with the same symptoms," Gwen explained. "Almost like the flu."

"Doesn't mean it's alien, though, right?" Olivia wondered, her eyes locked on the news articles displayed on Gwen's computer screen.

"But there was rift activity not long before it started," Gwen reported, typing at her keyboard. "Look. We went to investigate, but we didn't find anything. It was right after you left. Jack was at the airport when I called him."

Olivia examined the map on the screen, staring at the pulsing red dot indicating where the rift had opened.

"Llanishen Reservoir," Olivia murmured in thought. "Has anyone been out there since?"

"It's quite a drive," Gwen replied. "And nothing's happened."

"Well, now it has," Olivia sighed. "I'll take a look after I drop off Ianto. Unless you guys need me here."

"We'll manage," Gwen replied, lifting her coffee cup to take a sip.

Olivia placed her hand over the mug, making Gwen frown up at her in wonder as Olivia took the mug from her.

"No offense to Ianto's stunning coffee, but until we figure out what this is, don't drink it," Olivia explained. "Can't have the entire staff sick. I'll make a new pot."

"Good idea," Gwen nodded. "You know how to use the coffeemaker, yeah?"

"Yeah, but don't get used to me serving you," Olivia smirked, heading for the kitchen. "And it won't be as good as Ianto's."

" _Nothing_ is as good as Ianto's coffee," Gwen grinned in agreement.

* * *

 _Later..._

"I could've driven myself home," Ianto grumbled, curled up in the passenger seat of his as car as Olivia drove.

"With the shakes? I don't think so, Yan," she replied. "Jack told me to drive you home. I can't disobey an order from my captain, can I?"

"I don't understand this," he shuddered. "I was fine last night."

"So Jack said. But sometimes these things hit you out of nowhere. Fine one second and miserable the next. Did you do anything differently last night or at all yesterday? Eat something, drink something?"

"No. Not that I remember."

"Well, I'm sure Martha will figure it out," Olivia sighed, rolling to a stop in front of his home. "Until then, Jack says rest up. Mind if I hang out with you for a little bit? Make sure you're ok?"

"Sure," Ianto nodded, struggling to open his door as Olivia cut the engine and climbed out of the car to help him out. She hurried around and opened the door to pull one of his arms around her neck to support him as she walked him to his door.

"You shouldn't get too close," Ianto warned. "I could be contagious."

"I'll worry about that later," Olivia retorted, taking his keys from him. "Let's get you inside and I'll make you a nice, hot bowl of soup. How's that sound?"

He didn't respond and Olivia was having a hard time holding onto him while standing.

"Ianto? Ianto!" Olivia called, kneeling under his weight as he fell limp at his doorstep. "Great time to pass out, Yan."

She pulled her mobile out and dialed Jack as she fumbled with the keys, stepping toward the door to open it.

" _Harkness_."

"Jack, it's Olivia. Ianto passed out on his doorstep. Martha needs to look at him. I'll stay till she gets here, then I gotta check something out."

" _Shit. Ok. I'm coming too. We'll be there in ten. Hold tight._ "

"Will do."

Olivia hung up and opened the door before shoving the keys into her pocket to kneel down and drag him through the door. She set him down just inside the door then shut it before pulling him toward his sofa and up on it to lay him down. She sat at his feet with a sigh to pull off his shoes, then stood again to lean over him, unbuttoning his jacket then his vest. She started unknotting his tie when he suddenly started seizing, making her gasp and grasp his shoulders to keep him from falling off the sofa.

"Ianto!" she called, struggling against his thrashing. "Ianto, wake up!"

The door opening caught her attention and she turned to see Martha and Jack hurry inside.

"He's having a seizure!" she reported as Martha rushed toward them.

"Jack, hold him down!" Martha instructed, and Jack moved to take Olivia's spot.

Olivia watched the three, her heart aching at the fact that Ianto was so sick, and they didn't know why. Gritting her teeth and fisting her hands she turned and marched toward the door. Something was happening, and it was affecting her friends, and if she could, she would stop it herself.

"Olivia?!" she heard Jack call from the inside, but she was already rounding the car to get in. She strapped her seat belt on just as she heard a beep from the com in her ear when she started the engine. " _Olivia, where are you going?_ "

"Llanishen Reservoir," she reported, pulling into the street. "Rift activity that happened a week ago…I think it's got something to do with this."

" _We checked it out. There was nothing there._ "

"That's what Gwen said," Olivia confirmed. "I'm checking it out."

" _Felton—_ "

"Captain, how many times have I been wrong? I have a feeling, and I don't know what it is, but something's happened, and we should be on it."

Jack sighed before he advised, " _You should take someone with you_."

"No time. Somebody needs to stay at the Hub, Martha's taking care of Ianto and you need to be with him. I got this, Jack. Trust me."

" _Were you this exasperating when you were with the Doctor?_ "

"Are you kidding? It was the other way around."

" _I could see that_."

"The last thing he did: Entered a jousting competition in the medieval era just to prove he was my knight in shining armor."

" _Aw, that's romantic!_ "

"He wasn't _wearing_ armor!"

" _Frustrating, isn't he?_ "

"Jack, you don't know the half of it."

* * *

 _Llanishen Resevoir..._

"It was over there," the worker told Olivia as they walked along the railing over the water. "It burst up out of the water out of nowhere!"

Olivia said nothing as she stared into the water, looking for anything she thought was irregular. After a moment she finally used a fake Welsh accent to ask, "What did it look like?"

No answer came, making her frown in wonder as she finally looked at him, only to find him staring into the water as well.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, ma'am," he muttered.

"Oh, I dunno," she replied, casually, turning to lean back on the railing. "I might. I've seen and heard of things you probably wouldn't believe."

He seemed to mull over that for a moment before turning to her and she stood tall as he straightened.

"Just…tell me I'm not goin' crazy, ma'am," he pleaded before admitting, "It was a shark. One of them hammerheads, but it had a man's body—!"

"Oi!"

They both jumped at the shout behind Olivia to see the worker's boss marching toward them.

"Who the bloody hell are you?!" he demanded of Olivia.

Thinking quickly, she held out her hand with a huge grin, still using her fake Welsh accent to say, "Hello. Joan Smith. Health and safety. Just checkin' up on things here. Heard there was an incident a week or so ago. Might have something to do with this mysterious outbreak of something like the flu. Thought I'd check it out."

The supervisor glared at the worker, not shaking Olivia's hand as he side-stepped her and marched toward him.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut!" the supervisor hissed to the worker.

"I know, Sir, but—"

"'Scuse me," Olivia called, drawing their attention to her but she kept the gaze of the supervisor. "Best not be hiding anything from me. I'm not just health and safety, I'm a bit of an exterminator as well. But I have to know _everything_."

The supervisor glared at Olivia as she only held his gaze, confidently. If there was one thing she learned from the Doctor _and_ Jack Harkness, it was how to act like your lie was truth.

"Fine," the supervisor grumbled before heading back the way he came, beckoning her with a wave of his hand. "Follow me."

She obeyed without a word, turning to give a reassuring wink to the worker she'd been talking to, but he still seemed worried. The supervisor held the door to his office open for Olivia and she passed him with a smile.

"So what's your name, Sir?" she asked as he shut the door behind her and lead her down a hall of doors.

"Bevan," he replied without looking at her.

"Nice Welsh name," she nodded. "So, Bevan, where ya takin' me?"

"The surveillance room," he answered, stopping at a door to reach into his pocket for a ring of keys, sifting through them. "It'll be better if you _see_ what the rest of us saw."

"No complaints from me," she smirked as he unlocked the door and opened it, entreating her to head in before him. She warily stepped into the room, not feeling threatened but remaining on guard nonetheless. He stepped in after her, leaving the door open and they stepped in front of the several televisions in the room, all displaying different images. Bevan moved to a filing cabinet next to one of the machines and pulled out a disk to place it in the tray, sealing it in.

"This is the CCTV from the day it happened," he explained.

Olivia leaned forward on the desk and watched the screen attached to the machine. She watched carefully when several workers gathered around the railing to look into the water of the reservoir. They all looked distressed, and she soon saw Bevan marching into the crowd to see what they were all staring at. They all stared a moment longer before something shot up from the water, and Bevan paused the video as Olivia's eyes landed on the shape covered in water.

"Hammerhead shark," she breathed, still maintaining her fake Welsh accent in her awe. "With a man's body."

"I know," Bevan sighed, rubbing a hand over his face then placing it on his hip. "I can't explain it. It's impossible, isn't it?"

"Don't feel bad, Bevan," she assured him, patting his arm. "I'll figure this out. Can I have a copy of this video?"

"Take the original," he entreated. "Just…prove we're not all completely insane, eh?"

"Cheers," she nodded with a smile as he pulled the disc from the machine and handed it to her. "I'll bring it back."

She thanked Bevan as she turned to the door and stepped out, digging into her pocket for her phone as she passed the worker she'd been talking to and he looked relieved to see her still smiling. She quickly dialed Jack's number into her mobile as she made her way to the exit with another wink at him and pressed it to her ear.

" _Harkness._ "

"Jack, I've got something," she reported, stepping into the lift to take her back to the ground floor and to her car. "You'll wanna see this. You at the Hub?"

" _I'm still at Ianto's with Martha_ ," he replied. " _He's doing a little better_."

"Good. Don't give him any water from the tap. Only use bottled water for soup and tea, got it?" she said, as the lift traveled down.

" _What did you find, Nova?_ " he asked, honestly.

"Something in the water."

* * *

 _Back at the Hub..._

"Well, you two," Olivia smiled as she, Jack and Gwen watched the CCTV video on her computer. "What do you make of that?"

"The same date as the rift activity," Gwen noticed as Olivia paused the video where the creature was in sight. "Seen anything like it, Jack?"

"Probably from the same place our other fishy friends have been from," he sighed. "What are they looking at before it came out of the water?"

"One of the guys I talked to before the worker and his boss said there was a strange kind of glow in the water," Olivia explained. "That's what caught their attention in the first place."

"Rift opening," Gwen nodded then frowned as she wondered, "But what's this got to do with Ianto being sick?"

"If this thing's gone back to the reservoir without anyone seeing, it could be effecting the water," Jack explained.

"Or whatever it did to the water then is _still_ effecting it," Olivia added, turning in her chair to face them. "Nobody drink any tap water. Bottled water only. Gwen, check out medical records from the past couple weeks, see if anyone has been to see their doctors for flu-like symptoms."

"Uh, who put you in charge?" Jack smirked, making Olivia frown up at him before rolling her eyes, dramatically.

"Fine, _Captain_ , what do _you_ propose we do?" she retorted.

He waited a moment for effect before turning to Gwen and ordering, "Check out the medical records from the past couple weeks, see if anyone has been to see their doctors. And you two, drink _only_ bottled water."

"Well said, Captain," Olivia nodded as Gwen went to her computer to do as both she and Jack had asked. "And what am _I_ doing?"

" _You_ , sweet Nova, are gonna figure out where this thing went," Jack replied, turning back to his office. "I'll figure out what it is. We'll all visit Ianto later to see how he's doing."

* * *

 **A/N:** reviews?


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